I have thoughts, I have dreams and words in between

Self-Reflective Essay

2007-05-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

I always thought I was a good writer because I was creative with words. Now that I look back on my pieces of writing I realize my words are no more creative than the next average Joe. I just say things as they are and write whatever that pops into my head. I think as long as a little effort is put into the piece of writing it has the potential to be good.

“Good writing” is in the eye of the beholder because it varies from person to person. I think a good writer has to create images in the readers mind as though it is a video clip from a movie. This entails being very descriptive and saying every last little detail. There’s only so much ink and paper in the world so writers must use their imagination to create a world inside of another.

Through the process of writing for this class I have discovered a couple things about my writing process. The first thing I do is type what comes to mind. Typing is easier for me because it goes quick and I can get all my thoughts down on a hard copy. Otherwise, when I write long handed I get very frustrated often because I lose my train of though. After my first rough draft is done I try to read through and revise my word choice. Because we post our writings on a blog for this class it has relieved a lot of pressure for me. Not only do I not have to worry about my paper getting lost but it’s easy to access. The internet is becoming more and more apart of my life.

"Next, comparison was a rhetorical strategy utilized in this cartoon. F1 is being compared to the word help. They mean the same thing but help is a universal word. F1 is computer terminology. They are being compared because they are replacing each other in the human mind. This is only because computers play a huge part in our daily lives." (Rhetorical Analysis Essay)As you can tell from the following quote I am still working on a few things. As if it isn’t obvious my sentences are a little choppy. This is also only one paragraph. It’s too short for my own taste. This paragraph is also a great example for using little to no descriptions. Practice makes perfect so I’ll keep trying.

”It was good to see a different blog and notice how they do things.” (Analysing A Website: makezine) Looking back I now realize I should have worded this sentence differently. When it comes to writing I believe my major weakness is word choice. I think this is so because I never liked to read. Even now days, I hardly read unless it is an assignment for class. Frequent readers must have an amazing vocabulary because they are always surrounded by words. I would think they’re always learning because if they come across a word they’ve never read they go look it up in a dictionary. This is how their vocabulary grows. So my philosophy is the more one reads then the better his/her vocabulary is. Better word choices come from your experiences.

“To me this is an ad that says “Buy these jeans because you’ll look as sexy as I do in them!” As for the effectiveness, I think the as is very effective. I would want to buy their product because if the jeans look good on him then they have to look good on me, right? When it comes to being appropriate I think it depends on where this ad is being shown. If this ad was to show up in Teen Magazine, a magazine geared toward the younger population, of course it is inappropriate. On the other hand I do think it is appropriate if this ad was published in Readers Digest. I say this because this magazine is geared toward the older population.” (Is sex appeal utilized?) As you can tell from this quote, I am good at voicing my opinion. This comes natural to me because I have always written my thoughts down in a diary. It also helps that I’m a girl. Everyone knows that girls like to tell others how they feel!

When it comes to this course as a learning experience I am able to say I have taken away some useful information. Through my writing I can see I have development as a writer during this course. It’s obvious if you compare my first post with my most recent. I am proud to say I am a writer in the making and I can only get better if I practice.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

2007-05-03T16:56:00.000-07:00

Computers make the world go around. This is the day and age when we as humans depend on our computers for everything! Some days it saves our lives when we need to write a paper for a class. But most days it collects dust on our desk tops. If technology keeps advancing the way it is today, computers will eventually be able to save a human life from any kind of danger. Who knows, it could even replace the trusty life preserver. Unfortunately for the character in this cartoon we are only using computers to pay bills, watch movies, communicate via email and even sell personal items to people across the world. This is a cartoon from the Aha! Jokes website which is entitled “F1”. Although the name of the cartoonist is unknown his / her argument is obvious because certain rhetorical strategies were used. Comparison, definition and appeals are some examples of rhetorical strategies that were utilized. This cartoons argument is computers can do anything except for save a life.

First, just to state the obvious, the cartoon is in color. They aren’t so much your bold colors as they are your typical colors. The sky and ocean are blue which is what you would always see in real life. On a scale everything is colored in a realistic fashion. F1 is a function button towards the top left hand corner of a computer key board. It is known as the help button. It’s ironic how the person drowning is yelling, “F1! F1! F1!” to his computer when the computer doesn’t have the ability to comprehend English. There are little lines indicating he is moving his arms around. To me this says that he is trying to get the attention of his computer. The character looks scared and frantic with his eyes wide open as well as his mouth. This could be because he knows his computer cannot help him no matter how much computer language he yells. It could also be that he is drowning and scared for his life.

Next, comparison was a rhetorical strategy utilized in this cartoon. F1 is being compared to the word help. They mean the same thing but help is a universal word. F1 is computer terminology. They are being compared because they are replacing each other in the human mind. This is only because computers play a huge part in our daily lives.

Another strategy used in this cartoon was definition. F1 is not so much a word as it is a symbol. It is one of the twelve function buttons towards the top of a key board that is used as a help and support button. Although it did not say directly what F1 means all people that are computer literate know its definition probably because they have used it once or twice. One may not understand the message of the cartoon if they don’t know how to use a computer. With this being said the audience would have to be computer literate.

Appeals were the third rhetorical strategy used to make the cartoons argument clear. Logos are present in the form of words / symbols. F1 is a well known symbol and it is the only wording in the cartoon. This draws in the attention of the audience to the center of the action. Because it is repeated three times a sense of helplessness is present, which leads me into my next point. Pathos is present because the cartoonist is trying to make the audience feel sorry for the character because he is helplessness in his situation. We all know that a computer can’t throw a life preserver to you. We as the audience automatically think he is screwed. Ethos is also present. Because the cartoonist drew a helpless man waving his arms in the middle of the ocean yelling out to his computer for help he / she is telling the audience that your computer can’t do everything. There are only so many emails it can send and so many bills it can pay.

Finally I believe the writers’ purpose is to communicate to the world via this F1 cartoon that we as a human race are relying way too much on our pieces of technology we like to call computers. Maybe this is the cartoonists’ way of saying he / she wishes everything could be like the old days when they had hand cramps because they had to write everything out by hand. Nowadays that’s unheard of. I think the cartoonist wants the audience to do a couple things. The first thing is to stop taking short cuts in life because that is essentially what this character is doing. He is saying F1 instead of help because it is a shorter word but in reality it takes the same amount of time to say F1 as it does help. The second thing he / she wants the audience to do is realize that your computer is not your life nor does it ever lift a button to save yours.

In conclusion, the human race relies on computers so much nowadays we are beginning to speak its language. F1 me! F1 that drowning man in the ocean. Soon it’ll be if you go too far just back space and tab over and you’ll be back where you started. Even with the most up to date software a computer cannot rescue a drowning person. No matter how many times you yell out “F1” it will never come running like a life guard will with a life preserver. The underlying message the cartoonist is trying to get across is take a break from that free online poker game and go play catch with your children.

Freewrite: Duce, Love, Speeding Ticket

2007-04-22T18:07:00.001-07:00

It was the best decision of my high school career to go out for the tennis team sophomore year. The only thing I regret is that I didn’t start out when I was a freshman. As I sit here in my room on this Sunday evening of April 22, 2007 I remember tomorrow will be exactly one year since I got my first speeding ticket. The events leading up are all crystal clear still. It was one of my last tennis matches for high school. My partner and I were paired evenly with another team. This was obvious because the scores throughout the match stayed about the same. This picture was taken during the third set of the match. As you can see from the score keeper each team had won a set. (Might I just say both sets were a close call.) In order to win a set a team must win by two games. To make a long story short my partner and I were winning in this picture. Something happened right after this picture was taken because we started to loose. It was as though we forgot how to hold the racket and move our feet around the court. The other team ended up winning because we made tons of stupid mistakes! As you can imagine I was blowing steam out of my ears and swearing to the gods! I should have cooled down before I left the courts. But after a horrible lose like that all I wanted to do was take a shower, eat some ice cream and cry myself to sleep. Eventually I was able to do that after I got my first speeding ticket. I was driving at least 15 mph over the speed limit on my way home. If you couldn’t tell, LUCK WAS NOT ON MY SIDE!

This is a video clip from YouTube entitled "Most amazing tennis points"

This has nothing to do with anything i just said but some day I hope I get the chance to go to the US Open!

Freewrite: My New MP3

2007-04-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

I finally stepped up to the plate and bought this 2GB Creative Zen V Plus. I think / hope I made the right steps in buying this expensive little gadget. This coolest invention on earth caught my eye with its size, color and joy stick as I was shopping at Wal-Mart. I almost became an impulse buyer that night. All I can say is good thing my mom was there to save me a big chunk of change. At the time I thought I had my mind made up that I was going to get the 4GB. It was about $50 more than this 2GB and that isn’t even including the taxes. My mom talked to me and thought is was a good idea if I waited so I had time to research and make a well thought out decision. I hate when she talks me out of things because I feel like I can’t live without it for another day. For the most part she is always right! Yes, I admitted it. Mothers know best! I did my research on the Creative brand and did some thinking. I came to the conclusion that the 4GB was just too much space for me. And that was really the only difference between the 2GB and the 4GB. Then I decided I wanted black on green. The store didn’t have this color in stock so if I wanted it I had to buy it online from the Wal-Mart website. This was a new experience in itself for me. I placed my order around April 12th and got it in the mail within three business days. I have a few songs on but I want more. The only thing is that I don’t want to pay for each song. If anyone has any idea where I can get some free songs I love to know! I’m glad I stood by my decision which was not to buy one just because everyone else had one. I’m happy with my decision.

Freewrite: Significant Other

2007-04-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

Tears have fallen, hearts have been broken, feelings have been hurt and emotions have been said. If anyone can talk about rough times it’s my boyfriend and I. We’ve been in love for the past three and a half years. There have been a few bumps in the road but we are still going strong! His name is Zach and we met on the school bus sophomore year. We were what you called “High school sweethearts”. At our senior banquet we both received a certificate stating that we were the couple “most likely to marry your high school sweetheart”. Who knows that could still come true.

The picture above was taken on our two year anniversary. Not only do we look a little different but a lot of moments have been created since then. We ran out of gas on the way to see a movie. We spill food on ourselves on dates. (“It’s only a date if I spill something on me!”) We tickle each other to the point where one of us rips a smelly one. We went to senior prom and had a blast dancing our booties off. We graduated together! (O!6!) We also went off to college.

College is a huge turning point in a young person’s life. This is the time you’re suppose to bloom into an educated adult, meet tons of new people and have the best time of your life all at the same time. It’s so hard to do this and function/think correctly when you’re 75 miles away from the one person you love to death and know so well. This long distance relationship has been the hardest part of our relationship. Zach is attending CSU in Fort Collins and I am, well, here at UCDHSC. It’s a dramatic change for the both of us. We were so use to seeing each other at least five days out of the week for hours on end. We had classes together and a few off periods together, good times. ; ) We were inseparable! Even though we talk on the phone pretty much every day, it’s so hard not to hold, touch and kiss the love of your life. My only wish is that this long distance relationship makes us stronger!

It’s almost the end of our freshman year of college and you have no idea how excited I am that summer is less than a month away. Once summer hits I can only hope that we fall back into our old routine and spend every waking moment with each other! I've heard it's not going to get any easier next school year but we need to stay strong together!
I LOVE YOU ZACH!

EXTRA CREDIT #4

2007-04-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

I attended Daniel Alarcon’s reading on April 4. It was at seven o’clock in the Recital Hall of the King Center. He is a novelist and a short story writer. He is also an editor of a magazine from his home town Lima, Peru called Etiqueta Negra. War by Candlelight was a short story he wrote. He flew all the way from California just to read his book at this event that Cooper Nickel put on. He read from his recently published novel entitled, Lost City Radio. Before he started reading he gave a brief description / history of the story. He named the different characters. Elmer is the owner of the radio station. Norma is one of his employees. She has a husband named Ray. From what little text Mr. Alarcon did read I thought these were the main characters of his novel. He said that he made references to things we, as the audience, might not understand. For example he said “The moon” was a torture center. I don’t want to give anything away so if you have not yet read this book no is the time to cover your ears. Ray has been to the moon. The conflict throughout the story is why certain names were on “the list”. He also talked about the All City Radio show that was in his hometown and how he came to the ideas that formed into this novel. The following is just a few quotes that I found interesting. “There’s a man inside tied to a chair.” This was said when someone was talking to a reporter / firefighter about a fire that was burning down a house. “She was 28 and to late to go back to the university and pursue her passion.” This caught my ear because I don’t think it’s ever too late to go back to college and do what you like best. From my experience as a first year college student there are many more older people in my classes than I was expecting. “There was an air of worry.” I liked this quote just because it is another way for saying something that could be really boring. “Fuck the president.” When Daniel wrote this I really don’t think he was talking about Bush. “This world is going to shit.” I feel the same way. Lost City Radio wouldn’t be my first choice if I had to read a book.

YouTube: Cats

2007-04-11T19:16:00.001-07:00

EXTRA CREDIT #3

2007-04-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

Personally I wouldn’t call it a poetry reading but that’s a whole different discussion for a different day. I went to the poetry reading on April 2 at 8pm in the Tivoli, room 440. It’s kind of funny because out of all of the extra credit readings I have been to so far I enjoyed this one the most and I almost didn’t even make it. The blackboard posting said this extra credit event was going to take place in Turnhalle in the Tivoli. It ended up being in room 440. I was waiting outside of the Turnhalle until five minutes till. Then I saw someone one I recognized from class and they told me that it was in room 440. Good thing someone told me because I really liked this poetry reading. I wonder if I liked it so much because both the readers were female. (I wonder)

The first person to read was Danielle Dutton. (see picture above)
She just recently had a book published called Attempts at a Life. Before she read her poetry she would explain to the audience what we need to know in order to understand and also explain why she did what she did. Her first poem was called 20th Century Pastel. Like other poets from the past extra credit events she mentioned a few animals: birds and frogs. She also talked about real things that affect people, for example marriage. Danielle read from another poem entitled Jane Air. Before she started reading she said we may need to read the book she was referring to throughout the entire poem. She was talking really fast as if she was a crazy girl that was obsessed with something. Sometimes the audience would laugh but I guess I understand the joke. I didn’t enjoy the poem because I didn’t understand the underlying jokes. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I read the book she was referring to. Haywood was another poem she read. In this birds and squirrels are mentioned. (Why does it seem like all poets have a fascination with animals?) “I wake up saying cock –a –doodle –do” was a quote I found humorous.

Stephanie Young was the last person to read a poem. She said it was about a breakup entitled Betty Page, We Love You, Get Up! I thought this was a great poem! These are just a few quotes I found interesting: “I’m not depressed I promise.” and “Someone should take the internet away from me.” and “Everything will get better if you just calm down and get in the snow.” and “I declare war against the love in me.” Towards the end she talked about what they use to do, listen to, wear, talk about, where they went when they were still dating. Even though this seemed like a never ending list it added character to the poem. I thought the list was a great touch. She ended her poem with something her and her X use to do.

An Adbusters Ad

2007-04-08T21:29:00.000-07:00

McDonalds food is being consumed constantly all around the world for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. No wonder why a good percent of the population is overweight. This ad is implying that a Big Mac causes a heart attack. The famous logo is used for the heart rhythm on the monitor and three doctors are operating on a person that obviously ate too much fast food in his/her life. If this ad was produced by McDonalds then they just slapped themselves in the face. Now if this ad was produced by a random health company or a competitor, lets say Subway, then this ad would make more sense. If what I say is true then the competitor is trying to steer the consumer away from Big Macs by implying that a Big Mac could kill you with a heart attack. I think I can speak for everyone when I say this ad doesn’t appeal to me one bit! But then again there are still people feeding their bodies this disgusting food. I do everything in my power to not eat anything made by McDonalds. This kind of food and little to no exercise can be deadly. I just don't want to be in the same situation as the person on the operating table in the ad above.

Is Sex Apeal Utilized? WITHOUT A DOUBT

2007-04-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

This is one of many Travis Fimmel's ads for Calvin Klein. They're trying to sell one of their many products which in this case are Calvin Klein Jeans. In this ad sex appeal is definitely utilized. First of all the model is half naked. If that doesn't have sex written all over it then I don't know what does. The eye contact that the model is trying to make with the viewer is another aspect that gives sex appeal away. Even though only one eye is visible it makes it that much sexier. It’s as though something is a secret or mysterious. The thing I don’t get is that if they are trying to sell the jeans why do you only see half of the jeans. To me this is an ad that says “Buy these jeans because you’ll look as sexy as I do in them!” As for the effectiveness, I think the as is very effective. I would want to buy their product because if the jeans look good on him then they have to look good on me, right? When it comes to being appropriate I think it depends on where this ad is being shown. If this ad was to show up in Teen Magazine, a magazine geared toward the younger population, of course it is inappropriate. On the other hand I do think it is appropriate if this ad was published in Readers Digest. I say this because this magazine is geared toward the older population. Pathos appeal to the emotions and audience/viewer is convinced of the speakers/ads message. With this being said I do think the ad employs the use of pathos.

EXTRA CREDIT #2

2007-04-05T10:58:00.001-07:00

Because extra credit is so tempting I decided to give the poetry readings another try. I attended Noah Eli Gordons reading on Saturday, March 31. It was a four o’clock reading at Cameron Church. He read from his just recently published book entitled A Fiddle Pulled from the Throat of a Sparrow. He also read from his very first book, Frequencies. I found a few of his poems interesting because of how it was presented and his choice of words.

Noah kicked off this poetry reading by starting with a poem from his first book, Frequencies. I wasn’t quite sure if it was one long poem or several short poems. He would pause after reading and then say a radio station number. He would say for example, 106.3 and 104.1 and 101.7 and 102.1 and 106.1. I noticed that when he read 102.1 he spoke as if there were no spaces in his writing.

The second poem he read was called What ever belongs in the circle. I could be wrong but I think this poem is from his most recent book. It was very long and descriptive. Again, he would speak as though there were no spaces in his writing. Once in a while I would here some words rhyme in the chaos of his speech. I chuckled to myself when he said, “Animals do animal things in the dark”. It was just so out of the blue. “I won’t comply with a blank wall” was another quote from this poem. As the poem went on Noah’s voice got louder and louder and he would speak faster and faster. Towards the end of the poem I could barely understand the words that were coming out of his mouth. Also towards the end of the poem he was using the word “off” quite a bit. You could tell he put more emphasis on it because he would only say that word slow.

The third poem was called Figures from a dark room. This poem was different from the other poems because Noah and another man would switch off reading after each sentence. Sometimes they finished each others sentences and sometimes they said words at the same time. Not only did they use words to emphasis things but also gestures. I liked when one said, “Is this a part for touching?” and the other said, “Or a touching part?” Another quote I liked was, “lion crushes a dandelion”. I thought it was a great example of perfect word choice. It’s amazing how it created this vivid image in my head with only using four words.

That we come to a census was another poem read by two people. Instead of two men reading it was Noah and a woman. They would have their moments when they would be reading different lines from the same poem. As you can imagine it got confusing. I zoned out and thought that this is how a crowd of people sound. I noticed I was drawn to listen to the woman’s voice. Is this because I am a woman?

EXTRA CREDIT #1

2007-04-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

I went to my first extra credit poetry reading on March 27. It was in the Recital Hall at the King’s Center on campus. Joshua Poteat and Allison Titus were the two poets that read for this event. I didn’t care for any of Allison’s poems. I think this is so because I didn’t understand the themes of any of her poems. It was like she was talking in a different language. I got the vibe she was in love with goats. In almost every poem of hers she talked about goats. Why is this? One will never know. I found myself taking notes throughout the readings. Good thing I did because I would have never remembered the “fascinating” poems. Joshua’s poems were a little more interesting even though he talked about birds, wasps and war. I jotted down a few quotes from his poems that I found interesting. One of which was, “…got so drunk, hemorrhaged and suffocated in his own blood.” I felt the need to write this particular quote down because I thought is was descriptive and vivid. As he was saying those words, I could actually see a man lying on a sidewalk, gasping for air with a puddle of blood surrounding his head. Another quote I wrote down was, “The only real number is one. The rest are just repetitions.” (Keep in mind that these two quotes were taken from two different poems.) I liked this quote because I like when people, books, movies or anything else make me think about the true meaning of things and/or how they came about. I think that quote is so true. All the numbers after one are just a repetition of one. If you ask me what the poem was about in which I got this quote from I will tell you that I have no idea. I wrote these quotes down only because to me they stood out from all the rest of Joshua’s words. Out of all the poems that were read, you would think that at least one of them would rhyme in some way. The crazy thing is is that none of them did. I guess one could say poems that don’t rhyme are new to me. When I listen to poetry, I’m use to listening for the pairs of rhyming words. I felt lost when I didn’t hear any. It’s sad to say but the side stories were more interesting than the poems it self. They side stories were just the poets explaining what was going on in their life when they wrote the poem.All I can say is that the reading was interesting. I feel awkward because I didn’t like nor dislike the readings.

Analysis of the Elements

2007-04-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

This is a picture from the Foley Gallery. The artists name is Rosalinda Solomon. As you can see, there is no color in this image. When you first glance at it you just see a plain black and white photo. I think if the artist would have added color to only the bananas it would have made them pop more and maybe draw the audiences eyes into the focal point. Color also would have made it easier to see the bunch of bananas riding below the truck on the spare tire. The alignment of the image is pretty much dead center. When an image is centered like this it allows the audiences eyes to focus on the focal point. In this case the focal point is the bananas. Repetition is used in this photo with the bananas. Because repetition is used it peaks the curiosity of the audience. At least it did for me. The repetition forced me to look more closley at the photo. In a way the photo is balanced but when I look at it, I feel as though the bananas are going to fall right off the back of the truck. From the picture one can only assume that the truck is parked. Since the road in the picture looks like a dirt road, wouldn't you think a trail of dust would follow closely behind if the truck was in motion. I think the message that the artist is trying to get across is "Eat your bananas because there is plenty of them!"

Reflection on Photo

2007-04-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

This is a photo from the Foley Gallery. The artists name is Bart Michiels. I chose this photo to reflect on because it reminds me of something. Almost every other year my family and I drive to Wisconsin to visit my grandparents. They live on a farm with multiple acres of land. This picture reminds me of when I would run into the fields behind their house and find a spot to watch the clouds. I looked for a spot on the ground where there weren't any cow pies around. I would stretch my body out and smell the country fresh air. I was down wind from the cows so sometimes it didn't smell country fresh. No matter what the air smelt like I would stare at the clouds for hours just trying to guess what shape the clouds looked like. I remember seeing a bunch of weird things. For example, I saw a spaceship that was dropping aliens down to earth. I also saw a rabbit that looked like it was running away from a snake. Another image I saw was a large duck, maybe the mother, which was leading a row of baby ducks. I remember this was one of my favorite spots to go and relax. It was so peaceful with the light breeze blowing over me and moving the blades of grass all around me. I can just imagine myself getting up from cloud gazing, turning around and taking this picture of the matted down grass that once cushioned my body.

Observation on Picture

2007-04-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

This is a photo from the Foley Gallery. The artists name is Caitlin Atkinson. The look of disgust, everyone knows it. As this young women stands in her kitchen looking down upon her disaster she looks as though she could be ashamed, angry, tired or disgusted. There is a white stove just behind her, which gives her position away. There is also a vase with three pink flowers behind her. As you can see, the background is darker than the foreground. It is as though there is a spot light being shinned on this lady. She is wearing a pastel green, three quarter cut sleeve blouse and the top button is not buttoned. An apron with a flower pattern covers most of her blouse. The apron has pink trim. It is the same color as the flowers on her apron and in the vase behind her. The two pot holders in each hand holding the burnt dish are the same color as her blouse. It is a vivid contrast when the dish is / use to be white and there is a black substance inside of it. She looks as though she has been slaving in the kitchen the whole day because her hair is a little messy and in her face. The walls around the stove are naked. To me she looks like she is disgusted but then again I could be wrong about her emotions.

Reflective Essay : Quality Family Time

2007-03-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

“The chips fly during the third full weekend in June every year in Encampment as loggers come from all over the country to compete for the title of Rocky Mountain Champion Lumberjack. Using power saws, axes and hand saws, the men and women competitors cut down "trees", chop logs, and saw squared wood blocks in half, racing the clock for the fastest time. Cowboys ride bulls and broncos and the melodrama encourages the audience to get involved. This unique Wyoming event assures a good time to be had by all.” That is what my dad read the first time he went to the homepage of Encampment Wyoming. He was looking for a new place to go and enjoy the great outdoors with his family. Our weekend family vacation was almost past due so it was about time we got out of Denver. As my mom, dad, brother and I packed up our bags I was getting really excited. I was only five years old in 1992 when we started to make this trip. Ever since then it has been etched in stone into our calendars every year. I think it’s a great way for my family to get out of the city and spend some quality time together.

The first four years we were just spectators. Friday we would set up camp at a nearby campground. Packing up to go home was the worst part of the whole trip. At the time we had our pop-up camper. It was the kind that you had to manually crank up and then pull out the two queen sized beds from the sides. After setting up camp my family and I would relax and tell ghost stories around the toasty fire.

I always looked forward to the parade on Saturday morning even though we woke up early. The parade kicks off the weekend. The local police officers are on stallions and in their police cars throwing candy to all the excited little boys and girls along Main Street. The air is so hot and dry until the fire department comes along in their huge trucks and squirts the crowd with their water hoses. Also the local high school marching band supplies the beat that everybody walks to. You can’t miss the guy that has the really old shotgun that goes off about every four minutes. He sits in the bed of a truck, loads gun powder down the barrel, takes a stick shaped object and pushes it deeper and deeper into the barrel. As he fires the gun strait into the air your ears start to ring and you can feel the vibrations running through your body. The best part of the parade is at the end when you go through the candy you stuffed into your pockets and satisfy your sweet tooth. The Woodchoppers Jamboree begins after the parade. We find a seat in some bleachers that are surrounding the fenced off arena area. There’s always a good crowd turn out especially on the first day. Many different events take place over the two days. It’s not just men that compete, women are also welcome. Some of the events include tree falling,
two-man/one-man handsaw, pole throwing, and the standing block chop.
My favorite to watch is the axe throw. This is when someone stands about fifteen feet away from a target with a double-headed axe in hand. They get a total of three throws to get a perfect score. A perfect score consists of three dead center bulls-eyes. Each one is worth five points. The ring around the bulls-eye is worth four points and so on. It looks like you definitely need some muscle to throw that axe over your head 15 feet. I like watching the axe throw because it is so unpredictable. The same events go on both days.

The judges tally up the winners by taking an average of their scores from both days. There are activities for kids to do while the adults watch the Jamboree. The 12 foot vertical pole covered in Crisco is the favorite for the older kids. The incentive is the five one dollar bills clothes-pinned to the top of the pole. The goal is to have as few people on the pole as possible because keep in mind that you must share the money with everyone who helped. With my experience, the best way to get the money is to put the smallest kid on the tire. Then take a skinny tall kid and put him/her on the shoulders of a beanstalk. It’s a messy job. If you were one of the kids on the pole be prepared to get a lecture from your mom about how Crisco doesn’t come out of clothes. Another fun activity is the saw dust pit. Silver coins are thrown into a giant hole filled with the shavings of saw dust and kids eight and younger dive in like they’re pros. There are many techniques to finding the most coins. My personal favorite is sifting through the top couple layers with my foot. This way you stay clean and get the money. My brother does it a different way. He digs like a dog that was told there is a lifetime supply of Scooby snacks in the core of the earth.

In 1996 my parents started to participate in the axe throw. My brother and I weren’t far behind our parents foot steps. Each year it seems like we enter in a new event. By 2002 my mother found herself competing for overall lumber-Jill. Competition for best overall lumberjack and Jill is very intense! I think this is because there is a large amount of money to be won. I can only imagine how good it must feel for an average Joe to show a professional how it’s done.
My mom knows what it feels like! She now has the title: The 2002 Rocky Mountain National Women’s Axe Throwing Champion! She earned this title by throwing a perfect score. It wasn’t that big of a surprise when she beat me. But man, the crowd went wild when she beat all the professional women. There are average Joes that come from Colorado and other surrounding states, like my family and I. Then you have your typical professionals that you would see on ESPN. Sometimes I think they suck all the fun out of the competition because they are way too competitive.

To this very day, The Woodchoppers Jamboree is a family activity. But as my brother and I grow older it’s not so easy to hang out with our parents. We’re not those innocent little kids anymore that can have a good, worry-free time with our parents. We have responsibilities that need to be taken care of. Jobs demand us, bills need to be paid and we must pursue a higher education. The days seem shorter because we are constantly busy. I wish we could be worry-free again. Spending good quality family time is hard to come across now days. Sometimes mothers only get to see there sons and daughters on the weekends or it may even be the fathers. Now days, so many families are separated because of divorce. I consider myself lucky because my family is still together. We may have our moments when we don’t get along but at least in the end we have each other.

Free Write : Spring Break

2007-03-04T21:39:00.000-08:00

I can’t believe it’s already time for spring break! It feels like Halloween was just yesterday. I guess time flies when you keep busy. There’s just one draw back in my situation. Spring break for UCD students is less than two weeks away. Our last day before break is March 16th. For CSU, Fort Collins, students their spring break starts this Friday, March 9th. My boyfriend and I were planning on going to California on a road trip during our spring break. We didn’t decide if we were going to take his truck or my car. His truck was reliable but didn’t get very good gas mileage. At the time, my 1992 Chevy Corsica got alright gas mileage but definitely was not reliable.

Just recently I bought a brand new 2007 Hyundai Elantra which gets excellent gas mileage. Almost as soon as I bought my car we realized that our spring breaks feel on two different weeks. We must have horrible luck! Don’t get me wrong, I sure didn’t buy my car just to go on a road trip. I named my first car, the Chevy Corsica, “Piece of Crap”! It deserved that name because pretty much every time I wanted to go somewhere it either wouldn’t start or something would break down on it. So now you can see why I bought a new car. The only place I’ll be driving my new car this spring break is to and from work.

Just Relax

2007-02-25T23:44:00.000-08:00

Doesn't this look like paradise? The sky is bright blue and reflecting off the sea green water. This unknown person is obviously taking full advantage of the beautiful day. This would be a great vacation spot. Just throw your anchor over board your yacht. You might want to lather on some sunscreen before you go head over heels in the water. To the viewers eye it may look as though the person is in his/her birthday suit. Nobody can really tell for sure. This uncertainty leaves the viewer with their own assumptions. There are several possibilities as to where this photo could have been snapped. It is either off the coast of some distant country or in the middle of a secluded lake. Wherever it may be, it sure is a beautiful place. The water is kind of murky. It may just be the angle that the picture was taken. If I was this person in the photo I would be a little concerned as to what is swimming under me! Maybe this person is trying to see what kind of objects or shapes he can make out of the fluffy white clouds. For example I see a mother turtle and not far behind are her four offspring. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Analyzing A Website : makezine

2007-02-25T22:58:00.001-08:00

Here is the blog that I analyzed for this assignment. The subject of this web site seems to be technology.

Like every blog it has its own flare. There is a wide variety of posts on many different topics. It incorporates many ideas on technology, how to make your own, art work from galleries, and some wacky inventions.

Unlike my personal blog, the writer of makezine.com doesn’t express his/her feelings, opinions, or ideas as much. By doing this I think they are attracting a different type of audience. Their audience may be a group of people that are interested in learning more about the new technology that is coming out. They also may be a group of people that

The first time I went to this website the colors pulled me in because they are so bold. The pictures were beyond vivid. It was as though the pictures were taken by a professional photographer. All of the pictures are at the perfect angle and focused in on the focal point. I noticed that every single post had at least one picture on the subject of the post. This creates a great visual for the reader. In the future I hope to incorporate at least one picture into every blog just as this web site does.

Video clips were also incorporated into this blog. I think these are important because they let the audience see a world that normally couldn’t be seen on the internet. One of the videos was about playing games on your pocket PC. This is an interesting subject and it has to do with technology.

Might I add that the background is a plain white. I guess the black text on the white background is easy to read. This is the total opposite from my blog just because my blog is a dark blue with multiple color polka dots. I think my blog is also easy to read because the text color is a light blue. It’s easy on the eyes. I do have to give the blogger some credit for adding color in the form of pictures, titles and tabs. The pictures, like I said are very bold. The titles are a lime green. Also there are six tabs on top of the page. They are quick and easy ways to get where you want to go. They include Blog, Make Magazine, Podcasts, Projects, Forum/Community, and Make Store.

I noticed that every single post on this blog had a link of some sort. This is very helpful when your audience doesn’t know a whole lot about your subject. This is definitely something that I would like to incorporate into my blog more often.

I enjoyed analyzing this blog because it was different than all the other blogs I have been to. That is because there wasn’t much text. It was just a brief description on the subject and then there was a hyperlink if chose to learn more. I’m use to the blogs in our class with at least 500 words. It was good to see a different blog and notice how they do things.

Observational Essay : Yellow Skinned Toes

2007-02-18T23:28:00.000-08:00

It is 9:45 on a crisp Saturday morning and I’m 15 minutes early. So I stay in my toasty little car which is parked in the north lot of the CU medical center. Dom and Jane from the radio station mix 100 are keeping me entertained with their daily mind bender. It’s almost ten now and I see some people congregating near the entrance. I get out of my car and walk up one of the guys. This guy is 6’1” with black hair.
I ask him, “Hey, are you here for the cadaver lab?”
He replies, “Yeah! I’m really excited! Are you here for it also?”
“Yeah.” After eleven minutes go by the med student finally shows up.
“Hey guys, are you here for the cadaver lab?”
Everyone replies, “Yeah!”
“Great. Sorry I’m late. Traffic was horrible! If everyone could give me their signed permission slip we can be on our way!” There is a disclosure at the bottom of the paper your signature is on, “wear comfortable and disposable clothes, no jewelry, or cameras”. It seems only logical.

The walls are white, lights are bright. Shadows are casting upon the cold marble floor of the tables where the body bags lay. There’s a southern draft that carries the stench of formaldehyde. One whiff of this stuff and it takes over your body and makes you feel as though you haven’t eaten a single thing in the past couple days. After you’ve been in this room for a couple minutes you know that you’re cover from head to toe with that god awful smell. You also think that there isn’t enough tomato juice in the world to get rid of the stench.

With no surprise, you see all the corps. They lay on their stainless steal butchering tables. Some already scavenged through. “I recommend you rub this on your upper lip to dilute the smell and double up on gloves”, the third year med student said while handing me a tub of Vicks Vapor Rub. “If at anytime you feel as though you are going to vomit or pass out, let me know so I can escort you to the bathroom and drinking fountain.” Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t identify any of the bodies because they were decapitated. They say they do that for liability issues. Not only is their identity taken in the form of their face but also the blood that flowed through the veins. The veins and arteries appear to be shriveled up like a long and skinny deflated balloon because the blood was sucked from their body.

I look up at the clock on the wall and it says quarter to noon. I was working on an older ladies left leg with a scalpel and my fingers. The med student told us to separate the different muscles in the leg. While I was doing this I couldn’t help but to glance at her feet. It looked as though she had just had a pedicure. The toe nails were painted a bright fire red. I couldn’t register why the skin was left on the toes because the skin on the rest of the body was removed. I was curious so I asked the med student to come over by me. I asked while pointing to the toes, “Do you see that yellow skin there on the toes? Why is it still there?”
The med student explains, “Well it’s hard for them to get the skin off around the toes so most of the time they just leave it on.”

It’s 12:30 and it’s time to clean up. “Scalpels go in the blue container and gloves go in the trash. It’s going to take a couple days for you to get back to smelling normal. And you’re going to have to wash your clothes at least a half a dozen times to get the smell of formaldehyde out of them.”

Randomly Selected Words

2007-02-11T13:45:00.002-08:00

Randomly Selected Words: Acrolein, Beriberi, Copulation, Defer, Explanation, Frazil, Gouge, Haslet, Ichthyosis, Julep, Kludge, Legume, Myocardium, Nystagmus, Otolith, Pyromania, Quid, Raceme, Systole, Tabes, Uric Acid, Vicarious, Whist, X-rays, Yule, Zen

Acrolein : In organic chemistry, acrolein or propenal is the simplest unsaturated aldehyde. Acrolein is described as having a piercing, disagreeable, acrid smell. Skin exposure causes serious damage. Acrolein concentrations of 2 ppm are immediately dangerous to life. Acrolein may be easily produced by the action of approximately 1 part sodium bisulfate on 3 parts glycerine by weight. Acrolein is such a severe pulmonary irritant and lacrimating agent that it has been used as a chemical weapon during World War I. It is, however, not outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention. When glycerol is heated to 280 °C, it decomposes into acrolein.[2] Acrolein is also a metabolite of the chemotherapy drug cyclophosphamide, and is associated with hemorrhagic cystitis. Beriberi is a nervous system ailment caused by thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency; its symptoms include weight loss, emotional disturbances, impaired sensory perception (Wernicke's encephalopathy), weakness and pain in the limbs, and periods of irregular heart rate. Edema (swelling of bodily tissues) is common. In advanced cases, the disease may cause heart failure and death. The origin of the word is from a Sinhalese phrase meaning "I cannot, I cannot". Copulation is the union of the external sex organs of two sexually reproducing animals for insemination and subsequent internal fertilization. The two individuals may be of opposite sexes or hermaphroditic, as is the case with, for example, snails. Defer : to wait or postpone an action, such as a payment, until a later date. An explanation is a statement which points to causes, context, and consequences of some object, process, state of affairs, etc., together with rules or laws that link these to the object. Some of these elements of the explanation may be implicit. Explanations can only be given by those with understanding of the object which is explained. Frazil ice is a collection of loose, randomly oriented needle-shaped ice crystals in water. It resembles slush and has the appearance of being slightly oily when seen on the surface of water. It sporadically forms in open, turbulent, supercooled water, which means that it usually forms in rivers, lakes and oceans, on clear nights when the weather is colder, and air temperature reaches –6°C or lower. Frazil ice is the first stage in the formation of sea ice. Gouge refers to one of several types of cutting tools, in addition to its meaning as a verb (the action of cutting or scooping with or as with a gouge) and its slang meaning (to cheat, defraud, swindle or extort) and, rarely, as a noun meaning a swindler (gouger). Haslet is a herbed pork meatloaf, originally from Lincolnshire in England. It is typically made of stale white bread, pork (traditionally the entrails), sage, salt and pepper, and sometimes onion. At least one butcher in Lincolnshire produces a gluten-free haslet. Ichthyosis is a family of dermatological conditions seen in man and domestic animals. Its literal translation is "fish skin", since people or animals with ichthyosis have scaly skin which can vaguely resemble the scales of a fish. The conditions are caused by genetic abnormalities. The Mint Julep is a drink that requires special presentation....This drink brings forth the ideal image of genteel gatherings sprinkled with that slow soothing southern drawl.. Just thinking about The Kentucky Derby makes one long for a sip from a silver julep cup. Easy to make, the Mint Julep will boost your host or hostess status in the eyes of your guests. A kludge is a clumsy or inelegant solution to a problem or difficulty. In engineering, a kludge is a workaround, typically using unrelated parts cobbled together. Especially in computer programs, a kludge is often used to fix an unanticipated problem in an earlier kludge; this is essentially a kind of cruft. Those illustrating the tenor of the term often say that it takes a skilled craftsman intimate with the task, the material at hand, and the operating environment to construct a workaround clunky enough to be called a kludge.A kludge is also called a bodge. A legume fruit is a simple dry fruit which develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces (opens along a seam) on two sides. Myocardium is the muscular tissue of the heart. Nystagmus is an involuntary eye movement which usually results in some degree of visual loss. An otolith, or otoconium is a structure in the saccule or utricle of the inner ear. It is comprised of a combination of a gelatinous matrix and calcium carbonate crystals. Otolith crystals are relatively dense and heavy - they are connected to the rest of the body by the sensory processes of the macular cells. Pyromania is an intense obsession with fire, explosives, and their related effects. It is also an obsession with starting fires in an intentional fashion. An individual with pyromania is referred to as a pyromaniac. Quid is a rolled up cylinder of fresh leaves to be chewed and held in the mouth. A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. Systole is a term describing the contraction of the heart. Tabes dorsalis is a slow degeneration of the nerve cells and nerve fibers that carry sensory information to the brain. Uric acid (or urate) is an organic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen with the formula C5H4N4O3. Vicarious means experienced or gained through someone else, such as through watching or reading, done on behalf of others. Whist was derived from the older game Ruff and Honours, and in the twentieth century, bridge has displaced whist as the most popular card game internationally among serious card players. Nevertheless, whist continues to be played in Britain, often in local tournaments called "whist drives". X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength in the range of 10 to 0.01 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 to 30 000 PHz (1015 hertz). X-rays are primarily used for diagnostic radiography and crystallography. X-rays are a form of ionizing radiation and as such can be dangerous. Yule is a winter festival celebrated in Northern Europe since ancient times. Zen is a form of Mahayana Buddhism that places great importance on moment-by-moment awareness and 'seeing deeply into the nature of things' by direct experience.

Info for my Observational Essay

2007-02-05T09:19:00.000-08:00

For my observational essay I am choosing to write about Molly Brown. I have only lived next to her summer house all my life. I figured since I have never been there this would be a great time for me to do something new and get school credit for it. As of right now she, Molly Brown, is my subject for my essay. I might change my mind and write about an activity or a place. But until then, this is what I have to work with.

Some people may not even know who Molly Brown is. I know I had no clue who she was until I saw the movie Titanic. According to the Molly Brown biography - http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/brow-mol.htm she is known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown". This name was given to her because she survived the sinking of the Titanic. Molly is her nickname. Her full real name is Margaret Tobin Brown. Many people might be asking why was she on the Titanic in the first place. Well according to http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/brow-mol.htm she was trying to get to her ill grandson.

In 1886, Margaret married James Joseph Brown. They bought a summer house right here in Denver, Colorado. According to http://www.mollybrownsummerhousehistory.org/margaret_brown.htm it is located at 2690 South Wadsworth Blvd Denver, Colorado 80227. I plan to visit her summer house and take notes for this essay. I hope to find out some interesting things about her. In other words, I want to find some dirt on her! Otherwise if I don’t then this essay will be very bland and nobody will want to read my essay. As I write my essay I know I have to keep my audience in mind. If there is no interesting information in the essay I know I wouldn’t want to read it. It’s kind of a boring subject in the first place. My reason for maybe changing my mind and writing about something else is that it would be too boring. We’ll see what I can come up with.

If you go to this website - http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2817044-action-imgsearch-molly_brown_house_denver-i - you can see pictures of her house. Also if you go here - http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=Molly+Brown+&ei=UTF-8&fr=sfp&fl=0&x=wrt you can see what Molly Brown looked like back in the day.

Please comment and tell me what you would like me to find out when I take a tour of her summer house. Tell me something that I could put in my essay to make you want to read it.

OUCH!

2007-02-05T07:25:00.000-08:00

If this video clip doesn’t make you laugh then you need to go get your head checked because there is something seriously wrong with you. I’m just kidding. No but seriously, did your parents drop you on your head when you were a baby? I’m going to stop right there and apologize. I’m sorry.

I chose this video clip to be the topic of my discussion because I can relate to it. First off, many of my friends were cheerleaders in high school so I can understand their situation. I have heard of and seen some pretty nasty falls. Most of which end in tears and broken limbs. Secondly, I have fallen many times myself. It’s definitely not as funny when it happens to you!

In the following video clip, cheerleaders, camera men, mascots, and even football players may have been injured in the making.

I don’t know about you but I find it hilarious to watch other people falling down and getting trampled. Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only one. Am I in the wrong for thinking like this? Does this make me a horrible person? Sometimes I have to tell myself, “Who cares? Laughing never hurt anyone.”

This video clip isn’t your normal Youtube video clip. I say this because there are several short clips to make up this one video clip. So when it comes to the focal point of the video I would have to say that there is more than one. Each short clip has its own focal point. These would include the cheerleaders eating the dirt. As each short clip went by I bet you wrinkled your nose and said to yourself, "Ouch!". When it was all over I also bet you had a good laugh. Don't worry, you're not alone. I think everyone feels the same way when they view this video.

Since these are obviously home videos, I highly doubt any of them were altered in any way. In order to get the full effect, the person who posted the video must make the audience feel as though they are sitting in the bleachers watching this happen in front of their very eyes.

If you’re anything like me, watching other people get hurt might put a smile on your face. Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad for the people getting hurt. Everyone needs a good laugh once in a while. It’s been proven that the more one laughs the healthier they are. So my advice to you is to laugh as hard as you can and as often as you can!

Cultural Contexts

2007-01-28T22:52:00.000-08:00

I’m not one of those people that surf online for hours upon hours at a time. I like to get on, do what I need to do and be done with it. Lately, I’ve found myself on www.craigslist.com quite a bit. I’m trying to find a really good deal on a new used car.
This site is so awesome because you can find anything and everything you could ever possibly think of. I don’t think there is a focal point to this web site. First of all, there are no pictures or scrolling text. It’s a plain white and blue web site. When you go to this web site there is nothing that grabs your eye. You really have to search for what you want. There’s no impulse clicking which is a plus. This is probably the most basic web site out there. Blogging and other forms of web - based writing differ from that of traditional print / paper - based writing in the way read. Like we said in class on Wednesday, web – based writings have hyperlinks to other links instead of paragraphs back to back. Web – based writings don’t have paragraphs that flow, meaning you have to keep clicking on links to find out more information. Where as, in traditional print / paper – based writing you just keep reading and it continues to flow. Another difference between web – based writings and traditional print / paper – based writing that is quite obvious is that the web – based writing can be viewed by anyone who has access to the internet. While the traditional print / paper- based writing can only be viewed by those who have copies of the writing.

A website I visit often

2007-01-28T22:28:00.000-08:00

In order to understand the content of http://www.craigslist.com/ fully there are many things one should do / recognize. First you should figure out how to change the settings to the appropriate state and city to which you want to purchase from. For example, when I first visited this site, the settings were set for San Francisco. So all you need to do is find your city in the top right hand corner of the page and click. The next thing to do is know what you’re looking for, whether it’s free stuff, cars/trucks, wanted, baby items, chats, men / women, houses or electronics. Click on the appropriate link. This web site is pretty strait forward. Once you do this, a huge list of items will appear in order of the date and time they were posted. Now you should know if you want to purchase your item from a dealer or an owner. Also you should have an idea of your price range. I’m saying this because there is a search box at the top of the page where you can narrow down your search. This is when the fun begins! Just click on any and every posting that sounds like they have what you want. Here’s a cool thing about this web site, sometimes there are pictures of the items and sometimes there aren’t. Most of the time I don’t even bother clicking on the links that don’t have pictures. My thinking is that they must either have something to hide or they just don’t have a digital camera. One thing that really frustrates me is that you finally find what you’re looking for but the people that posted it must think you are psychic. I say this because they don’t leave you any kind of contact information. This has happened to me two times now. I found what sounds like the perfect car for the perfect price but yet there is no phone number or an email address. Some days I feel like giving up!
I totally think if someone doesn’t comprehend all the references then that will effect the overall message. My thinking is that if you don’t know what you want you will be lost / confused / searching for ever. There is nothing special about this web site. So if you are expecting something from it then you will be let down. In other words, it needs a lot from you, tell it what you want and it will do its best.