Britney Spears: one of the most hunted by the paparazzi. A diva by all means, complete with a divorce record, children horror-stories, and attempted comebacks to popularity. Many have fallen from the fan cloud, and some, like myself and the writer of the article I chose to critique, opted to never be a part of the fan cloud at all.
I would give Ms. Williams an A-. The essay was well-developed. All of her points were descriptive, and her paragraphs were full of content. It wasn’t a wimpy 5-paragraph essay. She put a lot of thought and research into her topic. She also used purposefully-placed statistics, which helped aid to her side of the argument.
However, I was disturbed by a lot of the language she used. It came off as strong and almost standoffish. While it is good to be strong in your argument, words like “stripper” and “sleazy” turn the reader off. Perhaps that was the stance she was going for, but I felt that her vocabulary was very childish.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Criteria of Evaluation
I cannot deny: I have become a Project Runway junkie. I only have class Tuesday-Thursday, and so it is the perfect Thursday evening relaxation show. Because of my interest in the fashion industry, I have chosen to develop my criteria of evaluation on fashion designers.
As Heidi Klum says at the beginning of every episode, “In fashion, one day you’re in, and the next, you’re out.” This is a true statement—to be a good fashion designer, you must stay on top of your game, so to speak. The ideas should never stop flowing from a fashion designer. This is the first criterion: always have an idea waiting to happen. The fashion world is a dog-eat-dog place. One never knows when their new brilliant idea will be stolen, thus, one should be prepared with another new brilliant idea.
The next criterion is a simple one. Be able to create with your own hands. Do not expect to hire people to do your sewing, stitching, cutting, hemming, etc. Many of the designers that are voted off of Project Runway are told that their work was messy and amateur. As the saying goes, “If you want something done, do it yourself.” Doing one’s own handiwork also creates a plus in the finished product. If the designer completes the project him- or herself, the finished product is likely to be exactly what the designer intended originally.
A final criterion (although the criteria is certainly not limited to my list here) for fashion designers is the ability to think creatively and put themselves out on a limb. Again, this one nearly goes without saying. However, the runway is a harsh and critical place. The presentation of common items already found in stores is not well-received. To be a successful designer, one must present new and edgy ideas.
The second item I have chosen from the list is UN secretary generals. I am not a hugely political person, so I do not follow the goings-on of the UN. (I probably couldn’t name any secretary generals, either!) To research this topic, I would start out by going to encyclopedias or books on UN history. I would choose the most talked-about secretary generals, and then find other books (or internet sources) as to why they were in the news a lot. This would include if they were popular, what issues they stood for, and what acts they did as secretary general. This would help me formulate criteria of evaluation for UN generals.
As Heidi Klum says at the beginning of every episode, “In fashion, one day you’re in, and the next, you’re out.” This is a true statement—to be a good fashion designer, you must stay on top of your game, so to speak. The ideas should never stop flowing from a fashion designer. This is the first criterion: always have an idea waiting to happen. The fashion world is a dog-eat-dog place. One never knows when their new brilliant idea will be stolen, thus, one should be prepared with another new brilliant idea.
The next criterion is a simple one. Be able to create with your own hands. Do not expect to hire people to do your sewing, stitching, cutting, hemming, etc. Many of the designers that are voted off of Project Runway are told that their work was messy and amateur. As the saying goes, “If you want something done, do it yourself.” Doing one’s own handiwork also creates a plus in the finished product. If the designer completes the project him- or herself, the finished product is likely to be exactly what the designer intended originally.
A final criterion (although the criteria is certainly not limited to my list here) for fashion designers is the ability to think creatively and put themselves out on a limb. Again, this one nearly goes without saying. However, the runway is a harsh and critical place. The presentation of common items already found in stores is not well-received. To be a successful designer, one must present new and edgy ideas.
The second item I have chosen from the list is UN secretary generals. I am not a hugely political person, so I do not follow the goings-on of the UN. (I probably couldn’t name any secretary generals, either!) To research this topic, I would start out by going to encyclopedias or books on UN history. I would choose the most talked-about secretary generals, and then find other books (or internet sources) as to why they were in the news a lot. This would include if they were popular, what issues they stood for, and what acts they did as secretary general. This would help me formulate criteria of evaluation for UN generals.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Big Foot.
For my web critique analysis, I chose the website about Big Foot—http://www.bfro.net.
On this webpage, the graphics are not hard to find. In fact, they are everywhere. Whether one does or does not believe in the sasquatch theory, it is a visually pleasing website. The photos help the website be easily navigable, and also provide evidence to aid the writer’s research. The graphics, along with the text are displayed in a column in the middle of the page.
There is less text than graphics. The text fits with the graphics in a harmonious nature. However, the text is obviously not the main point of the website—the graphics take that role. Unlike the graphics, which are displayed in the both the main column and the side bar, much of the text is in a series of links along the side of the page. The other form text takes is in labels and titles.
The text and color used on the page is mostly dark colors. The background in black. The text is blue and white. There is use of dark green and drab blue behind pictures. I feel that these are colors people equate to horror movies and suspense. It creates an effect of the unknown, which is exactly what the research on this website is about.
Each page has relations to the front page. They all have similar color schemes. Yet they all have small changes in format: one won’t have columns, another will have bullet points, another will have very little in the image department and a lot in the textual department. Since they are all based on the recurring theme of Big Foot, I do not think they could exist solely by themselves.
On this webpage, the graphics are not hard to find. In fact, they are everywhere. Whether one does or does not believe in the sasquatch theory, it is a visually pleasing website. The photos help the website be easily navigable, and also provide evidence to aid the writer’s research. The graphics, along with the text are displayed in a column in the middle of the page.
There is less text than graphics. The text fits with the graphics in a harmonious nature. However, the text is obviously not the main point of the website—the graphics take that role. Unlike the graphics, which are displayed in the both the main column and the side bar, much of the text is in a series of links along the side of the page. The other form text takes is in labels and titles.
The text and color used on the page is mostly dark colors. The background in black. The text is blue and white. There is use of dark green and drab blue behind pictures. I feel that these are colors people equate to horror movies and suspense. It creates an effect of the unknown, which is exactly what the research on this website is about.
Each page has relations to the front page. They all have similar color schemes. Yet they all have small changes in format: one won’t have columns, another will have bullet points, another will have very little in the image department and a lot in the textual department. Since they are all based on the recurring theme of Big Foot, I do not think they could exist solely by themselves.
Monday, September 14, 2009
A Moment Captured on Film
Being a photographer myself, I enjoyed looking at the prize-winning Pulitzer photos immensely. As usual, I found myself analyzing the angles and the focus, etc, but more than that, I found it hard to choose a monumental, argument-making photo. Obviously, since they ALL won the Pulitzer, they ALL make a strong statement.
Eventually I settled on a photo that is relevant to us today, taken by 2005 winner Deanne Fitzmaurice. It is of an Iraqi boy nearly killed by an explosion. There were more photos in the series, all documenting the process of healing the boy and integrating him back into society. This one speaks to me the most, however.
When a person first looks at the photograph, their eyes are automatically drawn to the boy's "hands," or lack-there-of. The picture plays on the emotions: "how horrible," "how sad," "how amazing." More than simply the absence of real hands, one sees the marker and the boy drawing on the paper just as any other child his age would.
His scars. His hands. His recovery.
It's all in the photo.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Back to the Milblog
After reading some new posts, I am reminded once more of both the terrible sadness and the ironic hilarity of the people suffering from the war. I only read three posts, but two of them really stuck out to me:
The first was a post from a sergeant. It was one of the most hilarious things I have heard all week. The sgt. talked about his Marines. Simply stated, they complained a lot about the horrible living quarters and what they have to go through. He/she continued on with the pitfalls of being in charge of these Marines: dealing with lazy ones, overweight ones, and the ones who want to get married or get divorced. It was called “Safely Handling Radioactive Stupid”—I would highly recommend it to everyone. It was good to know that, as I posted on a comment, all soldiers in the Middle East are not just experiencing doom and gloom.
The second one I read was by an Air Force wife. It was a heart-breaking tale of an experience she had through her children’s school. In signing up for school, the paperwork required information about her husband/their father…and she was simply not ready to be reminded of his absence.
Again, I found myself sort of reeling after reading the milblog again. Those people have so much more passion about what they’re doing, more than anyone I have ever met.
The first was a post from a sergeant. It was one of the most hilarious things I have heard all week. The sgt. talked about his Marines. Simply stated, they complained a lot about the horrible living quarters and what they have to go through. He/she continued on with the pitfalls of being in charge of these Marines: dealing with lazy ones, overweight ones, and the ones who want to get married or get divorced. It was called “Safely Handling Radioactive Stupid”—I would highly recommend it to everyone. It was good to know that, as I posted on a comment, all soldiers in the Middle East are not just experiencing doom and gloom.
The second one I read was by an Air Force wife. It was a heart-breaking tale of an experience she had through her children’s school. In signing up for school, the paperwork required information about her husband/their father…and she was simply not ready to be reminded of his absence.
Again, I found myself sort of reeling after reading the milblog again. Those people have so much more passion about what they’re doing, more than anyone I have ever met.
My Explorations of wonkette.com
The political blog I chose to “review” was wonkette.com. (I assure you, it was not because it was the first on the list, nor because it has a cool name.) I glanced through all the websites and settled on this one because it seemed to have an array of political topics.
In responding to the book’s requested responses on question five, I think that these bloggers try to point out fallacies by the tone they use. The writers do not specifically say, “This is a fallacy of argument.” However, I feel like their tone in an article shows their opinion on whatever they are writing about. Many times it is quite obvious to the reader what the writer is trying to get at, and I have found this throughout basically all of the articles I have looked at on this website.
The first fallacy I noticed after studying the site came from the topic that has us all going around in circles after President Obama’s speech to Congress on Wednesday. The article on Wonkette was called “Obama Accepts that Wingnut’s Apology.” I feel that this is the fallacy entitled Slippery Slope. The fact that the article is the second article posted on Wonkette shows that it is already too big of a deal, as agrees the writer of the article. Along with that, I found at least five other articles following the story as well. It was not very professional of Joe Wilson to “call out” like that in a Congressional session, especially using the language that he did, and most anyone would admit that. But it is simply not something that is very important to dwell on. As the writer says, “His obnoxiousness stands out quite well already.”
Another fallacy I found was in an article a little farther down with the title “A Children’s Treasury of Nancy Pelosi Animated.GIFS.” The most disconcerting thing about this article was the picture they showed beside it—a weird conglomeration of Nancy Pelosi with a crown on her head and arrows with a label of “sexy” pointing to her, behind President Obama with a skeleton head and a flashing “Gangsta” necklace, beside Joe Biden smoking a cigarette and holding a bottle of alcohol. Obviously this was all animated, yet I believe it falls under the fallacy Sentimental Appeals. Not that this is an overwhelmingly “heart-warming or heart-wrenching situation,” but it provides images of the three politicians in a bad light. If a reader already has a negative image of any of the three, they would be encouraged to sink deeper into their pessimism of the leaders of the White House.
I noticed another after exploring the site a bit more, and it came from the first article a reader sees when they enter the site: “Levi Johnston to pose nearly nude for gay website.” My first instinctual reaction was to start, wonder what in the world an article about a gay website could be doing on a political blog, and read the article to find out who exactly Levi Johnston is. (Granted, I’m not a news junky—especially political junk—so I wasn’t in the know about Levi Johnston being Sarah Palin’s “almost son-in-law.”) I feel that this, as the first fallacy I mentioned, is the fallacy Slippery Slope. In the end of the article, it said, “Sarah Palin is now an unemployed twitterer and Levi Johnston is the celebrity (?) of September 2009. Who could’ve predicted it?” That statement really blows the situation out of proportion. While Sarah Palin was a celebrity of sorts during the election, I can’t imagine someone I (as well as possibly a good number of other people) I have never heard of becoming a celebrity. Along with the previous two paragraphs, this one also helps prove my earlier statement saying that the bloggers imply the fallacies of argument in which they write about. It was very clear to me that the writer found the story so ridiculous that he needed to share it with others.
A fallacy I found proficiently clear in an article titled “Spanky Cumsack Resigns from California State Assembly” was blatant in the title. This I found to be Dogmatism. While the evidence in Mike Duvall’s “sex scandal” is basically incriminating, this does not mean that just because he is a politician, and just because he was caught in this sort of act, means that he is guilty of doing the dirty deed. The writer of the article seems to think so: “Mike Duvall has freaking resigned already for being disgusting.” Again, this blatantly shows the writer’s opinion, and he or she certainly knows that it is also pointing a finger at Mike Duvall.
I found all of these articles, along with others, to prove that the site is basically one big fallacy of argument. That being considered, these are all blogs, so they are the blogger’s personal opinions without stating them outright. Thus being said, they prove my point on bloggers inferring the fallacies.
In responding to the book’s requested responses on question five, I think that these bloggers try to point out fallacies by the tone they use. The writers do not specifically say, “This is a fallacy of argument.” However, I feel like their tone in an article shows their opinion on whatever they are writing about. Many times it is quite obvious to the reader what the writer is trying to get at, and I have found this throughout basically all of the articles I have looked at on this website.
The first fallacy I noticed after studying the site came from the topic that has us all going around in circles after President Obama’s speech to Congress on Wednesday. The article on Wonkette was called “Obama Accepts that Wingnut’s Apology.” I feel that this is the fallacy entitled Slippery Slope. The fact that the article is the second article posted on Wonkette shows that it is already too big of a deal, as agrees the writer of the article. Along with that, I found at least five other articles following the story as well. It was not very professional of Joe Wilson to “call out” like that in a Congressional session, especially using the language that he did, and most anyone would admit that. But it is simply not something that is very important to dwell on. As the writer says, “His obnoxiousness stands out quite well already.”
Another fallacy I found was in an article a little farther down with the title “A Children’s Treasury of Nancy Pelosi Animated.GIFS.” The most disconcerting thing about this article was the picture they showed beside it—a weird conglomeration of Nancy Pelosi with a crown on her head and arrows with a label of “sexy” pointing to her, behind President Obama with a skeleton head and a flashing “Gangsta” necklace, beside Joe Biden smoking a cigarette and holding a bottle of alcohol. Obviously this was all animated, yet I believe it falls under the fallacy Sentimental Appeals. Not that this is an overwhelmingly “heart-warming or heart-wrenching situation,” but it provides images of the three politicians in a bad light. If a reader already has a negative image of any of the three, they would be encouraged to sink deeper into their pessimism of the leaders of the White House.
I noticed another after exploring the site a bit more, and it came from the first article a reader sees when they enter the site: “Levi Johnston to pose nearly nude for gay website.” My first instinctual reaction was to start, wonder what in the world an article about a gay website could be doing on a political blog, and read the article to find out who exactly Levi Johnston is. (Granted, I’m not a news junky—especially political junk—so I wasn’t in the know about Levi Johnston being Sarah Palin’s “almost son-in-law.”) I feel that this, as the first fallacy I mentioned, is the fallacy Slippery Slope. In the end of the article, it said, “Sarah Palin is now an unemployed twitterer and Levi Johnston is the celebrity (?) of September 2009. Who could’ve predicted it?” That statement really blows the situation out of proportion. While Sarah Palin was a celebrity of sorts during the election, I can’t imagine someone I (as well as possibly a good number of other people) I have never heard of becoming a celebrity. Along with the previous two paragraphs, this one also helps prove my earlier statement saying that the bloggers imply the fallacies of argument in which they write about. It was very clear to me that the writer found the story so ridiculous that he needed to share it with others.
A fallacy I found proficiently clear in an article titled “Spanky Cumsack Resigns from California State Assembly” was blatant in the title. This I found to be Dogmatism. While the evidence in Mike Duvall’s “sex scandal” is basically incriminating, this does not mean that just because he is a politician, and just because he was caught in this sort of act, means that he is guilty of doing the dirty deed. The writer of the article seems to think so: “Mike Duvall has freaking resigned already for being disgusting.” Again, this blatantly shows the writer’s opinion, and he or she certainly knows that it is also pointing a finger at Mike Duvall.
I found all of these articles, along with others, to prove that the site is basically one big fallacy of argument. That being considered, these are all blogs, so they are the blogger’s personal opinions without stating them outright. Thus being said, they prove my point on bloggers inferring the fallacies.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
My Wiki
To be quite honest, I cannot imagine huge uses in having a wiki (personally). I believe it makes sense in a database such as Wikipedia, or on a webpage such as the professor’s the link took us to. However, for personal use, it seems to be simply another webpage to add to the collection.
While blogs have become a huge thing in terms of the World Wide Web, I’m not sure wikis will. Perhaps I don’t quite understand the point of them yet. Obviously there is a market for wikis—when I googled it, I got several thousand hits. What its purpose is, I have yet to discover.
Other than the fact that the website makes my computer run a little slower, I feel like having to work with another type of website has been beneficial. A little frustrating, I’ll admit, but as a young person, I feel it is good to keep up on all types of technology.
http://ahlearnard.pbworks.com/
While blogs have become a huge thing in terms of the World Wide Web, I’m not sure wikis will. Perhaps I don’t quite understand the point of them yet. Obviously there is a market for wikis—when I googled it, I got several thousand hits. What its purpose is, I have yet to discover.
Other than the fact that the website makes my computer run a little slower, I feel like having to work with another type of website has been beneficial. A little frustrating, I’ll admit, but as a young person, I feel it is good to keep up on all types of technology.
http://ahlearnard.pbworks.com/
Thursday, September 3, 2009
flickr.com
For my website "analysis," I chose flickr.com. This is a website for sharing photos--many photographers use this website to showcase their work. I use Flickr frequently, mostly for displaying my photography and receiving feedback on them.
To answer the first question ("Why is a Web site...the best way to present this material?"), I present another question: What other way could material such as this be presented? As digital photography is the way the photography world is going, having a website to display photos is the ideal way to go. Flickr is easy to use, and open for comments regarding photos.
This transitions into the next question ("What advantages over a print text or a live oral/media presentation does this website have?"). I do not think that Flickr could be produced into a print text, but it could be presented orally. However, there would really be no point in making an oral presentation of this website, other than to raise membership and vocalize the website. As said before, Flickr works perfectly well as simply a website.
The third and fourth questions raise issues of a whole new matter. Money is the only way to "translate" this website into print or oral presentation. It would cost a great fortune to produce a printed magazing of the thousands of photos that are displayed on Flickr.
Moreover, it would be less convenient for photographers: not everyone who wanted to publish photos could if Flickr was in print.Many budding photographers, like myself, would be left out of publishing. As I said before, Flickr is a great way to receive feedback on photos, and in print form it would be much more difficult to leave comments on specific photos.
To answer the first question ("Why is a Web site...the best way to present this material?"), I present another question: What other way could material such as this be presented? As digital photography is the way the photography world is going, having a website to display photos is the ideal way to go. Flickr is easy to use, and open for comments regarding photos.
This transitions into the next question ("What advantages over a print text or a live oral/media presentation does this website have?"). I do not think that Flickr could be produced into a print text, but it could be presented orally. However, there would really be no point in making an oral presentation of this website, other than to raise membership and vocalize the website. As said before, Flickr works perfectly well as simply a website.
The third and fourth questions raise issues of a whole new matter. Money is the only way to "translate" this website into print or oral presentation. It would cost a great fortune to produce a printed magazing of the thousands of photos that are displayed on Flickr.
Moreover, it would be less convenient for photographers: not everyone who wanted to publish photos could if Flickr was in print.Many budding photographers, like myself, would be left out of publishing. As I said before, Flickr is a great way to receive feedback on photos, and in print form it would be much more difficult to leave comments on specific photos.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Ads, Ads, Ads.
In my communication class, my professor spoke about how much the average person remembers based on listening to a lecture. The statistics are amazing: sixty-five percent of what is heard is not retained during the first day of hearing a lecture or speech. After twenty-four hours, a person loses another fifteen percent of what he or she heard.
Although the lecture on YouTube was a fairly short one, I feel as though it was very engaging. I watched it last night; after twenty-four hours, I remember most of it (surprisingly enough!). As stated in the chapter we read in our book, chapter fifteen, eye contact is an important part of connecting with the audience during an oral presentation. Even though I was not in the speaker’s direct audience, I found myself engrossed by her continual eye contact and also her conversational tone.
Along with these, the speaker was casually dressed and used her hands as though she were in a personal conversation with someone. I felt that this was fitting, as it seemed her audience was college-age (a more informal people group as a whole). Occasionally, she would make an amusing comment or joke. This also added to the appeal of a topic that would otherwise be blasé and mostly uninteresting in a different setting.
The visuals of this lecture were what really sold the package for me. Not only were they appalling--some even slightly offensive to some people--they were real evidence of the information the speaker was verbalizing. The visuals went well with her speech. They did not distracting from but rather adding to what she was saying. Perhaps it is because I am a visual learner, these are really what sticks in my mind when I recall her lecture.
Personally, I found this presentation to be extremely effective. However, I fit into a category that would find a majority of it very interesting: I am a woman. The advertising industry as a whole probably targets women more than men. As was stated in the lecture, women learn from a young age that they are supposed to look and act a certain way. Advertisements are supposed to tell women who they are and what they should buy to look that way. I am no exception; I am preyed on every day.
Overall, I found the statistics to be home run, if you will. Meaning that for all demographics, the statistics presented about how much we are bombarded with advertisement was astonishing yet believably true. I felt that without these statistics, the presentation would have failed to inform many people on just how much advertisement is part of our society.
Now, even more well-informed on the advertising industry, I find myself on Facebook… noticing all the ads on the side of my screen.
Although the lecture on YouTube was a fairly short one, I feel as though it was very engaging. I watched it last night; after twenty-four hours, I remember most of it (surprisingly enough!). As stated in the chapter we read in our book, chapter fifteen, eye contact is an important part of connecting with the audience during an oral presentation. Even though I was not in the speaker’s direct audience, I found myself engrossed by her continual eye contact and also her conversational tone.
Along with these, the speaker was casually dressed and used her hands as though she were in a personal conversation with someone. I felt that this was fitting, as it seemed her audience was college-age (a more informal people group as a whole). Occasionally, she would make an amusing comment or joke. This also added to the appeal of a topic that would otherwise be blasé and mostly uninteresting in a different setting.
The visuals of this lecture were what really sold the package for me. Not only were they appalling--some even slightly offensive to some people--they were real evidence of the information the speaker was verbalizing. The visuals went well with her speech. They did not distracting from but rather adding to what she was saying. Perhaps it is because I am a visual learner, these are really what sticks in my mind when I recall her lecture.
Personally, I found this presentation to be extremely effective. However, I fit into a category that would find a majority of it very interesting: I am a woman. The advertising industry as a whole probably targets women more than men. As was stated in the lecture, women learn from a young age that they are supposed to look and act a certain way. Advertisements are supposed to tell women who they are and what they should buy to look that way. I am no exception; I am preyed on every day.
Overall, I found the statistics to be home run, if you will. Meaning that for all demographics, the statistics presented about how much we are bombarded with advertisement was astonishing yet believably true. I felt that without these statistics, the presentation would have failed to inform many people on just how much advertisement is part of our society.
Now, even more well-informed on the advertising industry, I find myself on Facebook… noticing all the ads on the side of my screen.
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