Choices

The choices we make every day are influenced by outside forces whether we realize it or not.  From the coffee we drink to the car we drive to work, there are many factors that go into making a simple or big choice. Writing a paper is no different.  For the last eight years  I’ve been told to write an essay or paper in a certain format called “MLA” format and that this was the correct way to write anything that was to be submitted for grading. No exceptions. Since most of what I wrote ended up being turned in, I got so used to writing the MLA way that I habitually started doing it on my notes and other things that I didn’t hand in. So the choices in my paper we heavily influenced by the way I have been writing papers for majority of my school career and the way I have conformed to them.

It is 48 degress today and

after I stopped for my daily fix of coffee on my way to class I stopped to notice that I couldn't really decide if I was cold or warm. It's an interesting feeling because I was thinking to myself, "how would I describe the temperature right now?" and here I am writing about it. I love days like today because it reminds me a lot of spring. It almost caught me by surprise how much it felt like April but at the same time there was a crisp chill in the air that prevented you from getting to warm. These types of days always put me in a good modd because it's a sign that the long winter is almost over. I find it very interesting because on a day like today, there was snow on the ground yet for the 2nd or 3rd day the temperature is almost 50 degrees, just a little example on how you really never know what the weather will be like because I would have never guessed that it be almost 50 degrees in February after the winter we just had. So its days like today that put me in a good mood for the rest of the weekend.

Bill Collins

1) What were the original metaphors used?
2) Can you relate to this poem through one of your own relationships?
3) Do the metaphors have deeper meaning than it appears?
4) Why did you choose the metaphors you did?
5) Did you like the original poem?

The Birds

        The main point of scientific articles is to provide the reader with intellectual facts about a certain subject. Compared to a novel, a scientific article's language might be a little more difficult. I found this to be the case with Flight of the Kuaka. The author uses language that is rather dry and dull and really does not make me interested in the article. But since it's a scientific story, much detail and description must be used so that you have the same info as the author and then you will be able to understand the story's main points. Stap also goes into the history of these birds, as well as the people who studied them, which gives the article another element: history. Through the techniques of Stap, this story has the ability to appeal to a wider audience rather than if it was solely scientific.
          Another strategy Stap employs in his writing is his use of the 1st person point of view. He recounts events that he witnessed for himself and when he uses this, it allows the reader to paint a more clear picture in their head if they can get the description about something that the Stap actually saw. This provides the need for more description, but about setting an other factors that do not directly involve birds. From the outset, a person could see this a nother boring scientific article or story but with the description and precision that Stap uses to make his points, it's much like a short story rather than a scientific one.

Leher's Characters

             Leher gives a background of each character so that we can understand their situations and the circumstances which lead them to be referenced in his argument. Instead of just giving people names Leher makes is personnel by giving discrete details on these people's lives so that we already know something about them which can help us understand why they do the things they do. If Leher doesn't tell us some of the things he knows, then we may not fully comprehend the point that he is trying to make. This gives the reader more information to make inferences about the character and if we can apply his argument to these people.

Leher's Dialogue

        Leher uses dialogue to give direct references to support his argument and from just the quotes, you can gather much of what Leher is trying to say. He can convey his argument more throughly and with more fluidity by giving quotes and having conversations rather than just telling us what people say. This allows us to fully see what his major points are and to clarify the argument he is trying to make. The dialogue also gives us a clear idea of the personality of the characters instead of getting a paraphrased idea from Leher, the quotes tell us what exactly is going on with the characters.

But what does it mean?

"The East Indians would describe the Africans as impulsive hedonists..."

 Hedonists are people who live for the moment and the quote is refering to the cultural differences between the 2 groups. Since the Africans are hedonists, they would be considered low-delayers and have trouble with their desire for instant gratification in the future. It can be inferred that the East Indians are long-delayers and can resist the urge for instant gratification. The Africans do not consider their future when deciding their actions, they are always trying to live for the present and become satisfied now, rather than later.

Small Object, Large Subject

            Music is something everyone can enjoy. It has been around for thousands of years and everybody can find a tune that they can listen to. When someone wanted to listen to music, they used to have to hear it live, there was no other way to listen to it. But then the record player was invented and then someone could listen to music whenever they want. We’ve come along way since then, from cassete players to walkmans to CDs, people have come up with creative ways to listen to their favorite musicians. Than the ipod came out and it completely revolutionized the way music was handled. You no longer needed CDs or cassettes and you didn’t have to worry about damaging or losing or damaging them because thousands of songs can be stored on this one little device.

            The ipod changed the way one can experience music. The quality of sound of music was crisp and clear on digital audio files that it couldn’t compare with cassettes or scratched CDs. And the ipod is not anywhere near as bulky or heavy as a CD player and can fit into anyones pocket with ease. The scroll wheel made it so that you didn’t have to go through each individual song to get to the one you want. Your music was automatically sorted by band, song name, genre etc. and made finding the exact song you wanted very easily.

            But as with most technology, new ideas are thought of and newer models are created. The first ipod that came out had a black and white screen and could only play music and the biggest could carry about a thousand songs. Today, ipods are so much more and there are very few things newer models cannot do. Not only can these things hold thousands of songs, they can now use wireless internet, hold games or “apps”, take pctures, record videos and you can even watch your favorite tv shows and movies on them.

            The people who made the ipod were geniuses. They knew that intoday’s world that people are constantly trying to get things done. They realized they had a great idea when they allowed people to store their songs on one small convenient device but decided that there was a way to make it better. They created something that could allow someone to do nearly anything which made it appeal to all types of consumers, whether they used it for business or pleasure which is what makes this a truly remarkable product.