I've got a bracelet too...

I watched the debates last night as much as I could, and was pretty impressed with how it went. Both candidates made valid points and seemed very poised and prepared for this. Obama did an awesome job though, defending himself all along. I thought he was also very respectful the whole time, while McCain seemed stand-offish and rude. He spoke about Obama in the third person instead of directing his accusations and questions at him. His body language also spoke negatively for him. Obama, on the other hand, spoke directly to McCain and was the first to extend his hand for handshakes and positive gestures. All in all, it was an interesting debate and I was proud of myself for watching most of it.

ps- Don't you think Michelle looked alot prettier than Cindy =)

What!?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG1vPYbRB7k

OBAMA!!!

Today I had the privelege of attending the Obama Rally in Dunedin. I got there around 11:45 and there was a line about 2 miles long around Knology Field. We (my cousin and I) ended up getting in but we're very surprised because the field only holds 10000 people. We walked out onto the field and were suprised to see open area to stand right behind his podium. We were pretty much 15 feet from Obama's butt. Unfortunately for me, I began to feel faint from the heat and dehydration so I ended up spending most of his speech time in the medical tent. I did make it out towards the end of the speech and to see him walk out. I didn't get to shake his hand =( Obama spoke about health care and the economy, making a lot of good points about tax cuts to the wealthy and his plans to bring back a fair economy. I wish I would of been able to hear more of his speech, but feel so lucky to have experienced this history in the making.

Response to Comments on GAL Paper

I enjoyed having my peers review my draft, however I would have enjoyed it more if we could have chosen groups maybe? Or chosen one person to work with and review eachothers? I just felt like in a 3 person group setting, people had to speak up to give their comments or criticism so they might have been careful to be honest. If we randomly chose someone else to review, then we could just do it on blackboard and it could be more honest. I dunno, maybe for the next paper. As far as the comments I specifically got, they were helpful. There were questions I had not thought of and things that were unclear to others that I can now fix. I think it was a good idea to have peer review.

Rubric for Explore Paper

Most of us had the same idea as to what this paper should include. Hopefully what we added will shape the official rubric so that we are set up for success. This paper is pretty confusing and difficult to write so the easier the rubric is on us the better. I feel like we all understand what we are supposed to do, but we haven't been given the tools to accomplish it. Its like being told to bake a cake, but you're not given a recipe. So you just kind of go with what you know and use random things you remember but in the end, its not going to be the best.

pretty good analogy right? =)

Palin and Hilary

kinda funny?

What do we blog about?

I guess I'm just blogging to blog because we're supposed to have 3 a week. I have been trying to follow along in this class and keep up with the work but this is really crazy. I feel like I should take this class completely by itself because it is so much work. I looked up more on my CASA research and more on the I-Search so I hope this all comes together. Especially given that we have a rough draft of the agency paper (that we have hardly any clue about) due on Tuesday.

Writer's Workshop

I-Search Paper

The purpose of this paper is to explore an issue or two in the election and see how your candidate has progressed in their views on them (how they have changed, etc.) The audience is pretty much anyone who has a similar interest in knowing how Obama has worked in Darfur and how he feels toward abortion. It also for me to learn more and develop my own conclusion from my research. The rhetorical situation is exploration through questions that will guide my research.

Local Agency (possible CASA?)

The purpose of this assignment is to discover more about a local agency and investigate what is does, who works there, how it's funded, etc. Our audience is our peers and professor, although anyone else interested in CASA might enjoy reading the essay as well. The rhetorical situation is exploring an agency to learn more about it. My essay will be written from the process of searching for information.

Invention Strategies

I am typically a bad writer in my opinion. I can never get a paper started, I'm not consistent, and I usually struggle to get to the word count. Invention strategies that I use to help get me started are freewriting, brainstorming, and listing. These are all done in a notebook and written very sloppy as ideas come to me. It always helps me to freewrite ideas. I also just write down random paragraphs I know I want in the paper, I just can't figure out where. Later I already have it composed to just type on the computer. For the I-Search and Writing to Explore, I will have to continue to research and I will probably keep a folder for information as I gather it. When it comes down to actually composing the paper, it helps me to have an outline to follow. Then I can make sure important parts make it into my paper.

Revision is something I don't really care for. When I am writing I can't wait to be done and have little desire to go back and read what I wrote. It helps me to send my paper to my mom or dad and have them read it over and give me advice. Getting another perspective on the paper always is a good idea to make sure everything flows. All of these strategies will surely make it into my work because, like I said, I am not creative enough to start writing and make sense. I need to go through the invention stage and then the revision stage to really make a paper worth turning in.

More on the old GOP

On a totally different note than before, my brother is currently in Israel experiencing the Holy Land with a group from our church. When asked if he had seen anything suspicious or dangerous, he said that they had only seen a few troops and they were just at bus stops or on the side of the road, minding their own business. Meanwhile, at the GOP Convention, more than 400 people have been arrested. Even more people have been pepper-sprayed, clubbed, smoke bombed, etc. I'm not saying that they weren't in the wrong, it just seems noteworthy to me that there is so much more going on here than in Israel.

Republican National Convention

"I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's....I loved it for its decency; for its faith in the wisdom, justice and goodness of its people. I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea, a cause worth fighting for. I was never the same again. I wasn't my own man anymore. I was my country's." - John McCain

...really? like honestly? I don't know. Quotes like that totally turn me off. How much more can you suck up to the American people. I don't believe he was sitting as a prisoner of war thinking "Gosh. I'm so glad I signed up to be in this war. I just love America SO much and I don't care if I am here FOREVER! I'm here for you, America."

Haha Sorry if that offends, but the man is a little bit ridiculous.

Just finished another day

After another day in this ridiculous class things are starting to clear up a bit. I think things will get easier as we get into the routine of how to use Blackboard and what not. I'm a little worried about how this I-Search will all work out. Honestly, 10 pages freaks me out because it took everything in me to squeeze out 4 pages for papers in Comp 1. I hope the outline given to us and the little exercises to prepare for it will help us have enough information by November.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Rhetoric is something that I think I'm pretty strong in. I usually have a good idea of the situation I am writing for and can write for a genre. My weakness is usually when it comes to writing for my audience and having the correct tone. I think it will help if I really place myself wholly in the writing situation and learn about my audience before I begin writing.

My strengths in critical thinking lie in my ability to overthink things. This comes in handy when I have to look at situations from multiple perspectives. However I have trouble understanding language, knowledge, and power. It makes sense when presented in a n example, but I don't totally understand it on my own.

My writing process is probably not the best strategy for writing. I would be open to learning new ways to improve my writing process because I don't feel like I am strong in any particular aspect of it. I usually draft on paper so I can freewrite and then write a first draft, but I don't think I have enough outside perspective to revise it over and over again.

If I understand knowledge of conventions correctly as the "table manners of writing", I would say that this is something I am strong in overall. Whenever I am writing emails or papers to people outside of my family and friends, I always err on the side of caution and try to be as professional as possible.

Honestly, If you had to ask me, I would say I'm a weak writer overall. But I tend to doubt my abilities in writing and usually end up doing okay in the long run.