Balderdash1's Weblog

In Hindsight…

balderdash1 — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:35:58 +0000

The most conspicuous issue about my writing that I learned this semester is that I have a tendency to be too general. In order to ameliorate my papers and create a stronger thesis, I need to add more obscure, foundation building examples.

Another aspect of my writing that could use some improvement is my ability to fully dredge out my argument. My papers could be developed more fully, the argument could be clearer and more concise.

A Step in the Right Direction

balderdash1 — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:37:30 +0000

After reading “Go Ahead and See What You Can Do,” I felt really inspired to learn that there are collective groups of Israelis, Palestinians and Americans who are all striving to find a solution to the conflict in the middle east. I found it particularly interesting that “the Palestinian people are more interested in equality (fair treatment under law) than a separate state.” Usually in the US we only hear of the tragedies of bus bombings and other terrorist actions. The filter of information could possibly be propaganda for Israel by the US government? It seems that the news only reports a black and white version of the issue, Israel- good, Palestine- bad. It is more inspiring to hear that both sides are coming together to educate one another on their grievances and in order to achieve compromising solutions. A common misconception in the US is also that the Middle East is filled with terrorists, but it takes accounts like “Go Ahead” to educate people on the true stigmas of both Israel and Palestine.

The Wall, and How it is Relevant Today

balderdash1 — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:59:41 +0000

The Wall is a psychedelic yet metaphoric story about taking control and overtaking authority. Pink Floyd is advocating breaking away from being a faceless, noncontributing member of society. more importantly, its about resisting monotony and comformity. In context to this class, our research paper is arguing for freedom and individual expression. Although the movie was made in the 1960s, its message is still relevant today. At he time, the Vietnam War sparked much resistance to conformity in US culture, and in comtemporary times, the Iraq War has created an outcry for protest, for people having their voices heard. Breaking out of conformity is important because it allows people to grasp their natural prerogative of expression and creativity. It is also a way to “stick it to the man,” or to challenge authority.

Honesty is Refreshing

balderdash1 — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 21:12:01 +0000

While reading through the blogs of the junior writing class, the most conspicuous aspect of their blogs was their redundancy. Granted, they all were completing the same assignment so there are bound to be similarities, but few of the essays had an infusion of an individual writing style. The blog to which I was most drawn belonged to Ciaobelllla. It clearly discusses the weblog process, which would benefit an outside audience whom may not be familiar with the system.

By describing the beauty of using technology with features like anonymity and receiving outside feedback, the blog generates enthusiasm for the medium which we are using. The author also raises questions about the possibilities for posting comments. He or she asks, “Could writing a post then commenting be easier than doing a peer-edit in class?” And “Would the comments be more in depth?” Questions which would expand the potential for students to improve their writing skills. The part of the blog which I enjoyed the most was toward the end, when Ciaobelllla admits that he or she is “awful at blogging”. The author’s honesty is a humanizing and amusing touch, because the preceding voice of the blog had an objective, reporter tone with little blend of opinion. The statement also ties back to the caption above the blog’s hyperlink, which proclaims Ciaobelllla is “tired of using technology”. The essay’s informative and amusing tones are important characteristics in the world of blogging, because it is easy to become bored and browse over the plethora or works on the net.

Other blogs I enjoyed were those of AliGirl22 , Likeboldcolors and metalcircus. AliGirl22 doesn’t just summarize, she assesses Eng112’s feelings toward the format of the class. Likeboldcolors cites a few of the Eng112 entries to provide evidence to support his or her statement that “freshmen are receptive to the idea of feedback”. Metalcircus caught my attention by his or her honest admission that he or she is “real tired, [is] about to go to bed, but it’s really important that you read this. Fun for the whole family”. A really humorous start to the essay.

Bibliography

Ciaobelllla “F&F (Feedback and Freshmen).” Webblog Posting. 24 Oct 2007. University of Massachusetts.

Likeboldcolors “Lets Hear that Feedback!” Webblog Posting. 25 Oct 2007. University of Massachusetts.

The Fun is Yet to Come

balderdash1 — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 20:32:16 +0000

I woke up, listened to Band of Horses and Broken Social Scene, and spaced out for a half hour. When I first woke up and listened to music, I had no feeling of urgency, which often happens on weekdays. I highly recommend experiencing a calming mood in the morning during the week, its usually rare. Coffee in the morning, watched reruns of crappy TV shows for 15 minutes. I almost missed the bus to campus, my roommate Kerry lost her shoe while running and everyone on the bus watched. We laughed all the way on the bus, which is a good way to start the day. We sat in the blue wall for an hour, had lunch, chewed over funny stories, our friends, our parents, all the while people-watched. So far, an average, laid back thursday. Next was linguistics class in a hot room, if it wasn’t a difficult class I would have fallen asleep. After that, the stress surfaced. I planted myself at Lederlee library, tried to compose my portfolio for English class. I don’t think you can really feel any other emotion when doing work, besides stress. Usually the time between my two tuesday- thursday classes is soaked with stress. With 10 minutes to spare, I made it to English class. Throughout the day, I anticipated later in the day. Excitement for the night! Dinner with friends, going out to the bars, and seeing my guy.

sentence:

Thursdays are the best: wake up late, only two classes for the day, and the weekend is just around the corner!

Art Objects as a Form of Research

balderdash1 — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:58:51 +0000

Art Objects was an effective essay which outlined the reasoning behind contemporary society’s dismissal of art. She also described ways to hurdle the wall between art and the impatience people often carry. Winterson inspired me to look at art differently, stripping away all of the media swirls and notoriety that can often surround art, and look deeper into the composition.

Clearly Winterson had to research for the essay, in order to connect to an audience that may be apathetic about art. For example, when she discusses sitting and staring at a painting for an entire hour, she wouldn’t have been able to accurately describe the experience without actually enduring the full hour. It made me gain some respect for her, that she is so passionate about art that she would conduct an experiment in order to see the perspective of an average member of society, not an art enthusiast. She has a tendency to talk down to her audience, but it is an understandable flaw because she is trying to foster enthusiasm for the average individual to appreciate art, which is normally considered an elitist activity. Her essay inspired me, but as an art lover already it is interesting to see the art world from another perspective.

Responding to the Response on my Response

balderdash1 — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:33:47 +0000

From the little material that I wrote, there is just as little feedback about my assessment of Blendi’s paper, which is fair enough. Blendi’s paper seemed pretty successful in getting his point across that Marco is a driven individual, so I didn’t see much wrong with the main ideas in his paper. I tended to overlook the grammar, which explains why I didn’t write an extensive amount picking apart his work. Reflecting on what I wrote, I do believe I could have been more detailed when writing my reaction to Blendi’s paper, because there is always room for improvement.

While it is always difficult to criticize others work, I find it particularly difficult in this class to no-holds-barred rip apart a paper because any one of our writings could potentially be subject to public scrutiny. And when I mean public, I mean participatory class scrutiny, and online criticism. I know, being a introverted person, that I would be mortified to have my writings shared with others. So I commend anyone who have their work publicly scrutinized in a classroom. I just hope my paper isn’t next.

I hope I am doing this right: possible essay topic?

balderdash1 — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:16:01 +0000

In response to Steph’s post, I agree with her about not having as much information as the other student who wrote about Evita. As soon as I saw that someone else had introduced the same person as me, I knew there would be quite a bit of comparison.

Moving on to a proposing a topic for an essay, I was hoping to write about something that has always interested me. I was playing around with the idea that people’s musical taste often helps define themselves as people. Music has been a subtext to defining generations such as the hippie sixties, new wave eighties and grunge nineties. To take it a step further, I want to expand it into exploring how musical taste can define people to others and perpetuate stereotypes. Let me know what you think, and if you believe this is a feasible essay.

No biography :(

balderdash1 — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:36:57 +0000

Since I don’t have a biography to comment on, I am commenting on not having a biography. While it gives me the freedom to write whatever I want, I find myself wishing I had a piece that I could criticize, praise, or bitch about. Writing a biography is nerve wracking, especially since that person is sitting right near you and you can openly see their initial reaction to your assessment of them. I keep thinking that person is going to turn around and shoot me a dirty look. But then again, I guess writing is all about putting yourself out there and hoping to God that you don’t get jumped in the process.

While I have to make up my own classwork because someone didn’t send me a biography, I have to say its nice to not be the slacker for once. I’m usually that kid who doesn’t do their work and my partner lets out a heaving sigh of annoyance that they can’t complete their assignment. And it’s nice to be the one who can let out the heaving sigh, no longer the one who feels like they have a big stamp on their forehead that says “slacker.”Kind of like the scarlet letter. Sure is nice to not be that kid for once.