Oct. 29th Blog Post

“Why We Crave Horror Movies” by Stephen King:

2.  When King compares horror movies to roller coasters he is comparing the ups and downs of excitement a roller coaster and horror movies have. Likewise he compares the movies to public lynching by saying that if they can compare pro football to voyeurs version of combat we might as well say that lynching is comparable to these modern movies. Lastly he uses the example of sick jokes is relatable to the horror movie by saying that by using gruesome puns like “a truckload of babies”.

“Innocents afield” by Buzz Bissinger

2. The author repeats “millions” in a few different scenarios. First the author uses it as the number of viewers, and then by the amount of money spent by the district on “needed” things for a championship. I think how the actual paragraph is worried could use some work; personally I don’t think that this repetition is as effective as another strategy could be.

“Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples

2. I believe the strong descriptive introduction is misleading in the fact that it shows him off to be harmful. But in fact he is quite the opposite but the average person walking the street would stereotype a man of his appearance. But you learn quickly by the second paragraph that this man is not harmful what so ever and is just a victim of how we group people by appearance.

October 15, 2010: HW Assignment

Questions About the Writer's Craft:

1. Cohen organizes her essay point by point, by first allowing the reader to see the first parties point and then backing up or comparing that by another perspective. I think she chose this because it's more effective to keep the readers attention by showing both sides of a particular point. Rather than describing one side with every detail and then the other side.
2. I think shes writing more to inform than anything. To me she isn't necessarily seeking approval or disapproval. More as she is just describing the change from marriage arrangement in the past compared to todays marriage tatics.
3. She quotes the book, and now movie, "Pride and Predjudice". As well as another book "The Flirt's Tragedy: Desire Without end in Victorian and Edwardian Fiction". I think she quoted directly from the book because she was able to compare the vernacular of today vs. then easier, with direct proof.

In class assignment 10/6/10

Activity #2

B.There's no use crying over spilled milk.

• Don't sweat the small stuff
• There is always tomorrow
• No sense in getting worked up about things that will pass
• Stress doesn't do any good for anyone

Counter the saying..

• Sometimes you need to worry about the little things
• The little thing sometimes counter act with the big things in your life
• It never hurts to care too much about something that happened

      I would rather write an essay on the positive side of " there's no use crying over spilled milk" because it would be easier to relate too. When going through changes in your life or even just minor details you can't be down or depressed about it. You have to take it how it is and grow from it.

Activity #5

Paragraph revision:

Original paragraph:
    A small town can compete with a large new mall for shoppers. But merchants must work together, modernizing the stores and making the town's main street pleasant, even fun to  walk. They should also copy the malls' example by including attention-getting events as often as possible.

Revised paragraph:

    Small towns can easily compete with larger more industrial shopping malls. But this would take the effort of the city occupants and store owners to keep the town pleasant and attractive by modernizing the community, allowing it to have a more fun atmosphere. It would also be to their advantage to copy malls' attention- getting events at every convience. With these updates small towns would have a fighting chance.

Hw assignment 10/1

Pg.292

#2)

• Euphemism is a category with in doublespeak. It is used to alter the meaning or our perception of the sentence, by watering it down in other words or making it easier to the ears. Its produces the question of whether or not the person is concerned or avoiding conflict.
• Jargon, is a shorthand form of speaking. Usually used with-in groups of people like lawyers, mechanics etc., its a way of saying things that others in your "group" will completely understand. But outsiders might see a person using jargon as superior to them, which created double speaking.
• gobbledygook or bureaucratese, is using lots of words with-in the sentence and lengthening it to distract the reader or person your talking to almost to completely avoid what the reader wants to know. Some question whether or not the speaker actually knows what there talking about.
• Inflated language, it is used to enhance speech, or make it flasher. This poses the thought that the speaker or writer has no idea what there talking about what so ever.

#3)

• "an inoffensive or positive word or phrase used to avoid a harsh, unpleasant or distasteful reality"
• "the specialized language of trade, profession, or similar group"
• "is simply a matter of piling of words, of overwhelming the audience with words"
• "is inflated language that is designed to make the ordinary seem extraordinary"

Pg.298

#2)At the beginning of the piece he speaks of prisoners. But to me they sound as if there slaves. The author goes on by saying there not only damaged on the outside but also in the inside. They were emotionally damaged. With out being treated with much respect or dignity.