mmp008's blog

As we finished up the Unlikely Disciple I was pleasantly surprised about the book. I thought it was a great story that was interesting and pertained to the things I am going through in my life as well. The ending was a huge surprise to me because all along I thought he would stay at Liberty. If I were his friends, I would be super mad that he was just my “friend” so he could write a book.

But the Turner Model is present throughout the book. First Kevin has to leave the world of Brown, a huge party place,  and decides to go leave his world of convention, and goes to Liberty. I think his limin is his first day on campus as a Liberty student where it sinks in that he is in over his head. The creation of anti-structure is when he meets his floor mates and people in his dorm. The formation of communitas is him joining the choir at Thomas Road and Joey and his other friends. THe metaphorical death is when Jerry Faldwell died. And the return is when he goes back to Brown instead of staying at Liberty.

This week’s reading I found super interesting. Maybe because it’s totally random and hard to understand like myself, or because I have read Kurt Vonnegut’s book Slaughterhouse 5. Throught out both speeches I think he does a great job of making it interesting. In the first speech he talks about being in World War I, saving his marriage multiple times and raising his kids. He also talks about how people treat other people like garbage, but if you believe in astrology and palm-reading then even a nobody is a somebody. He also says that eveeryone somewhat has a talent like dancers, architects, and etc.                                                        In the second speech he talks about how dentist should quit their jobs, their making people live too long. He also talks about the Mona Lisa and how she isn’t correctly drawn and how Leonardo DaVinci is lazy. He talks about he isn’t a religious man or how much he loves science. He also makes a reference to his sister that “your parents ruin the first part of your life, and your parents ruin the second.”

I liked these speeches because it had valid points in it of life and the most important one being, “don’t take life so serious.” I agree with this 100% because if you live your life seriously and stress about everything, than its going to be boring and a hard life to live. I also liked how he went back and forth from different topics, it kept the reader interested in a very strange way. And the quote about the parents and kids is so so true. I loved this quote.

This week we watched a video on fractals and how its “beautiful” in relations to math. The video talked about how almost anything in the world is in some way related to fractals. It also talked about how fractals have helped in the movie making process and in the fashion world. But we wouldn’t have any knowledge of it, but thanks to Benoit Mandelbrot. He was the first man to really do anything.

I feel like the video was better than reading but the video could have been way shorter and still gave us all the valuable information. For me the video kept dragging on and on and it seemed to repeat itself. I think I feel this way because I’ve never truly liked math. Throughout my middle and high school years I always struggled with math and my teacher never really helped me he would just do the problem for me and expect me to get it.

In the first reading, “What’s “manly”, what’s not for athletes”, it talks about how people percieve professional athletes. Some athletes found it “embarassing” that a pro athlete had a photo shoot, or that another one skipped an important game for the birth of his child. It also talked about how men don’t care to have women be announcers because their voices are “annoying”.

I feel that it is perfectly fine for professional athletes to do photo shoots like Mark Sanchez did. He is just like any other celebrity. And to the people bashing on Sergio Romo, they need to back off. I think that it was perfectly fine for him to do that, because to me family comes first. It was his choice and I’m pretty sure that there are more than just him that can pitch on his team anyways.

In the second reading, “The Tevelised Sports Manlihood Formula”, it talks about how watching countless hours of sports is negative for young boys. In commericals during the professional sports it includes some racism by having over 90 percent of commericals deal with white males, and sexism because males are the main focus and women are usually depicted as a trophy or award. It also talks about how if you play sports you are suppose to be mean and aggresive, because if not you won’t win. It also says something about sports is war and giving up your body to play. In today’s sports if you get hurt your expected to go against doctor’s orders and play anyway because that makes you more “tough” and “manly”.

I think that it is not a bad thing for young boys to watch sports because I feel its the parents influence on them that makes them aggressive, not by just wathching sports. It also says something about being sexist and racist, which i agree with. Yes, there is an occasional African American or Asian but in most commericals there are white men. Also, there are half dressed girls dancing around for attention which is gross. As I’m typing this I’m watching a professional football game and everything that I read in the second reading is completely true.

As the weeks go on in Religion class it definitely is becoming easier. The first couple weeks I will admit I was completely lost. But this time it is easier. Now we are learning about different types of pilgrimages. The first one we talked about was the Elaide model. The Elaide model is simply saying that the Earth is flat (not a sphere) and heaven and the underworld are sandwiching Earth. It also talked about how everything lead to the center or to a high point. This is because people thought that the closer you were to center pole it was kind of like a ladder to heaven.

Another model we talked about was the Turner model. In the Turer model there was a super important word limin which means a transition out the norm. The first step in the Turner model was to leave the world convention. And transition into a new place with new people. Next was the creation of anti-structure which meant to lose the stability you once had. Next is aggregation which is coming together. Communitas is bonding and forming a new “community”. After you form together, there is a methaphorical death, usually dealing with water or fire. And after all this happens the pilgrims must return home.

In his presentation last night, Alex Waters made a strong point to start building your resume now as a freshman. I agree with this because the more activities and clubs your in, in college the easier it is for you to get a job post college. I think this because when looking for a job the employer always ask about previous job experience or community service and if one person has that past experinces and the other one doesn’t. More than likely the person with past job experience will get the job. I agree with Alex because if you don’t start builing your resume now then it will just be harder for you and take longer for you to get your “dream job”.

Alex also made it a point to have a back up job just in case your “dream job” doesn’t work out for you, like you planned. I look up to Alex because of how he has such a positive outlook on life even if he has a minor set back by being in a wheelchair. He could mope around all day but he is so happy and positive. Last night, the whole time Alex was telling his story, I was thinking of a kid in my hometown who broke his C5 vertibrae last winter. I thought about how big a change he had endured and hope he would have such a positive outlook on life, just as Alex did. I feel like Alex could be a positive role model to everyone, in a wheelchair or not.

Summary:

In the first book Cicero was technically saying public speaking can be a good thing or a bad thing. It can be helpful by letting people know true information. It has helped many cities be established, it has also help ended wars. But in a negative light it has misinformed people and made them believe in false information. It also has had a negative effect because the men that used eloquence negatively were the ones who usually gained power.

Another part of Cicero’s first book talks about the 3 main subjects of eloquence that there are. The first one is demonstrative which concerns itself with the praise or blame of some particular individual. The second topic is deliberative which is having its place in discussion and in political debate. And the last one is judicial which means to comprehends the topics of accusation and defence; or of demand and refusal.

An important part to rhetoric is the way to present the idea, the divisions are Invention, Arrangement, Elocution, Memory, and Delivery. Invention is the conceiving of topics true or probable. Arrangement is the distribution of topics which have thought up during Invention. Elocution is the adaptation of fitting words and sentences so the piece is interesting. Memory is lasting impression you want to leave in the audience’s mind. And Delivery is the regulating of the voice and body in a appropriate manner.

Reaction:

I found this piece to be super confusing. I had to reread it a couple times just to understand the reading. I think that I found it confusing because it was written long ago and the times have changed. Back then writers used sophisicated words while today most people just use words that everyone can understand.

But I think Cicero is right in the part where he talks about eloquence and how it is used negatively. Even in today’s society, the media and politicans use negative eloquence just to make themselves look good and to get more money.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, I Have a Dream, he is a great speaker because he is talking about a subject that is passionate to him. I feel to be a good public speaker you have to talk about a topic that is close to your heart. In his speech he has dramatic pauses to build tension and suspense. He also uses carefully selected words and metaphors to paint a picture in the audience’s mind. He also repeats certain words to hint that they are very important to his speech.

Some things that have interested me is that four different guys all have different aspects of religion. Which in reality you wouldn’t think that religion could have that many definitions.

First,  Frazer thinks that religion is the rejection of magic, if magic doesn’t work then try religion, if that doesn’t work then use science. I highly disagree about his definition of religion because science is not the answer to everything. Sometimes, there are unanswered questions and there is no way to ever find the answer.

Next, Durkheim says that religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to “sacred things” that is to say, things set apart and forbidden. These practices “unite into one moral community,  “community” and “church”.” I would have to say that i agree with Durkheim the most because his explaination is the closest to what we do today. I also agree because he says that it “unites a moral community” and when I go to church I feel connected with everyone around me.

Freud, what a strange man. His definition and belief of religion is the craziest, most opposite of what I was thinking. He thinks religion is superstitions, that there is no God or Gods, and that everything always leads back to the truth. Oh, and the fact that all men want to kill their fathers and marry their mothers, and that all women have penis envy is a hint that Freud had to be a little messed up in the head.

Last but not least is Marx. Marx defintion of religion was the sign of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. I disagree with this because religion is a choice for people so saying that rich people make the poorer people go to church and do things related to religion is their choice.

Summary:

This reading is about Calliagnosia (calli for short). There are many different point of views about the positive and negative effects of calli. One point of view is from Tamera Lyons who had her calli because of her parents. Other points of views are by members of a student body, the President of the National Calliagnosia Assoication, the media, a psychologists, and even Tamera’s parents.

Calliagnosia is done by doctors, they stimulate the brain with an impulse that causes the brain to not recognize outer beauty, it simply reconginzes the person’s inner beauty. The main speaker is Tamera an 18 year old girl just going to college. She has had calli her whole life, thanks to her parents. She then decides, what the heck, and gets her calli “turned off.” It takes her a few days but then she realizes she is gorgeous. The ex “love of her life” still has his calli turned on, but one day Tamera convinces him to turn it off and he hates the way he looks. Soon after that, he turns it back on.

Response:

I feel that in today’s world and the huge impact media has on people calli could be a positive asset to society. People, especially teenage girls are constantly concerned with how they look and what they wear.

But I think that people don’t need calli. People in today’s society should have self confidence. Who cares if you don’t have the perfect body, golden bronzed skin, perfect hair, and straight beaming white teeth? All of your “imperfections” is what makes you you. And if someone has a problem with it, they are the ones lacking self confidence because they find the need to make fun of you.