Long showers=lesson plan ideas+water puddles on the bathroom floor

I really need to contact my landlord about fixing my shower--I live in Ghent and have a slow drain, causing my "closet" of a shower to often overflow if I leave the water on the whole time.  But see, I get my best ideas in the shower...so the longer my shower (what, I don't pay for water---and I have thick hair) the more developed my ideas become...so since I've had a huge case of writer's block today (yes, we suffer from that too) I took a longer than usual shower...and ended up with a huge puddle to a)not slip and break my neck on...and b)soak up before my 9 month old kitten tried to play in it.  So, earlier today...to avoid the block...I went to the grocery store and came home and cooked some couscous with pine nuts, sauteed onion and squash, gorgonzola, grape tomatoes and dried cranberries...then I read some blogs...btw, just over 50% of the ones I saw I was uber impressed with...the other I was like...not bad...very few was I, meh...needs some work (especially on length!--remember each post should either be 1 300 word, or 3 100 word posts...but I only grade what you have done by the due date)

So when that didn't work, I turned on mindless tv (Bravo's Housewives of Orange County) and read some...still...nothing...then my best friend called from FL to complain about his woman problems, and I was lecturing him about his crazy ex (cause, ya know...I'm the expert [sarcasm entered here]) and was telling him about this show I was watching....still...no idea had hit me until I was desperately trying to rinse the conditioner out of my hair (ladies, I'm sure you feel my pain)...and it hit me! I'll talk about Orange County...now...I know what you are thinking...what the heck can a stupid reality show about rich women in CA have to do with English?...well...sit back and be amazed at my cunning ability to connect English with reality TV...

So here is the background...(for those that don't know)...Vicki is a super busy business woman...she is the only one out of the group that works...Tamra likes to complain about money problems, but doesn't work...Gretchen's boyfriend died a few months back, now she is dating some other old guy...Lynn is the hippie, spacy one who just started selling her cuffs for fun.  Alexis is a super mom (with nannies) and is "religious" (meaning she goes to church every Sunday and gossips the rest of the week).  Now, don't get me wrong, each of these women have their positive attributes, but honestly kids, don't go trying to be like these women...I mean really...DRAMA!! So that is the background...here is the episode plot I want to focus on...

Vicki had to go to FL for a conference...she invited the girls for a girls week as well at the end of her conference...she told her husband that she was really looking forward to spending time with just the girls...so Tamra's husband didn't like the idea of her going away for a week so far away...so Tamra told him to come...Alexis has not been away from her husband overnight in more than 5 years of marriage...Lynn's husband was like...cool...have fun...and Gretchen's boyfriend showed up to suprise her when they were in the lobby of the hotel.  Vicki (the one who organized the trip and activities) had no idea the husbands were going to show up...so clearly, she was upset.  Then everyone started harshing her for being a stick in the mud and being upset that the guys were there...drama drama drama...then started gossiping behind her back about how unhealthy her marriage must be cause she didn't invite her husband and that their marriages were much stronger than hers...so...big picture...what is the take away from that episode...what is the theme?  Well, it sounded like at the end of the day, that because Vicki and her husband could be apart for a week and have time for their own lives/interests/friends...there was something wrong with them...

Now for the real magic...what does this have to do with English? Ah...brace yourself my friend...here it comes

The show is a "reality" show...but whose reality? Obviously, the cast gives seperate interviews throughout...not every single waking minute of each character is shown...so the cast/crew/editors are making choices about what we as audience see, which creates a seperate reality and innundates us with messages (hidden or blatant) that sway our opinion in one way or another...and over time, our opinions and thoughts about relationships, body image, style, etc...pretty much everything... is influenced by the images we are innundated with through media.  So, intentional or not, the editors are sending the message to their audience that Vicki's relationship is not ideal, not "normal" not even desirable in most social circles...but is this really the message that we should allow ourselves to accept?  Which couple has the better, more stable relationship...the one that says we must have our husbands accompany us on a week long vacay without our kids?  Or one that the woman can leave, have fun and have her partner hold down the fort and take on the day to day activities of the house while she is gone?  If this trip had been planned by Don (Vicki's husband) and had been an invitation of the men...would it have gone down like this?  Would Don have gotten slack for being miffed if his buddies showed up with their wives in tow? 

So yes, keep in mind that shows we watch, music we listen to (passively or actively) billboards on the corner, etc. are indeed compositions...with real rhetorical choices (or rhetorical failures) and they do influence the audience in some way, shape or form...the only way to overcome social oppression/stereotypes is to be aware of these choices, be aware of who/what is directing our thoughts, who creates the images and what they are meant to do and to analyze the rhetoric we come across every day....

Welcome to the Jungle, baby...

Example of a Visual Argument with memo (for Comp 2 students who are stuck!)

So, as you can see, this would be an example of a visual argument.  The reflective memo is also included in this post...this would be a good example to follow, although, you will not be making connections to earlier readings (as is done here) but you will be asked to discuss the value of creating a visual argument vs just writing an essay...something you should be thinking about anyway...fyi, had more time been given to complete the assignment, there is a lot I would have done differently...like, change the font color to make the words stand out...reversed the image and made it transparant so it looked like the zombie masses were actually looking at a tv, etc.  This image was created in Photoshop, also, and I was VERY new to the program.  Just a thought, wanted to give you some ideas to think about when it comes time to start thinking about your own visual argument.   Happy Almost-Weekend!!

The purpose of this memo is to discuss the meaning, choices and processes implemented throughout this project, along with connections made to theories in New Media.

Meanings

“The media is the most powerful entity on earth…because they control the minds of the masses” Malcolm X. This statement for me holds great meaning and echoes earlier leaders dating back to Naro of Rome. He was famous for saying, “If you give the people circus and bread, they will never question you.” Media represents our circus. We are drawn in to being entertained, even during our news casts, and who hasn’t heard of people being, “mesmerized by the boob-tube?” The zombies are meant to represent us…the masses. The news background represents media, but I decided to choose some very different images to represent the newscaster and inlay. The inlay is the “media’s depiction” of the typical gypsy. She is standing over a crystal ball getting ready to reveal some magical outlook about someone’s future. The newscaster however, is actually a picture of a 28 year old Roma woman dressed professionally. If you look closely into her eyes, she (like all us Romani women) does have a very mesmerizing stare. The reason for these images of “Gypsies” for me plays with the concept of how these groups are portrayed in media, stereotypes of dominant culture and the reality of the culture of the Roma people.

Processes

I think that most good writing comes from sudden urges. This being said, once I had chosen the quote for this project, an image appeared in my head of what I kind of wanted the final collage to look like. This actually helped me choose Malcolm X’s quote in the first place. It is kind of hard to describe the organic deeply imbedded desire to create something artful. It is something like a sudden itch that demands to be scratched. I rarely, when composing texts for school, have this urgent, organic desire to create. I usually have to spend a long time thinking about the topic I have chosen, and then can sit at my computer and type furiously as the words often stream out of my head faster than I can type them. I then have to go about correcting the grammar and polishing it since most of the writing will be incoherent babbling to my audiences.

Much the same way, once I had this set image in my head, I had to find pictures that would work to create something similar to what I originally had in mind. I have to admit; I did get extremely frustrated and ended up changing my original plan due to my own limitations with Photoshop. Once I saw the image in grayscale, I decided that although it was not the image I originally had in my mind, I did like the finished project. I felt like no matter how much more time, or how much more Deke videos I watched, I did not think the picture would get any better. Sometimes it is best to quit when you are ahead.

Choices

I have always had a strong fascination and fear of zombies. They are supposed to be dead, but yet they are walking and grunting; you can’t kill them unless you physically destroy their brain, and they walk around really slowly sort of like they are in a trance. They eat other people, or they bite you and you then turn into a zombie. WTF is up with that?! This is why I chose the background image of zombies. Originally, I wanted just a group of zombies walking, but then I decided that the circle of zombies would be better since I would then have an open space to put the image. The zombies could look like they are then gathering around the media image and are subsequently drawn into the TV screen. The image of Fox News represents media. I chose a Fox News image because it is the least of my favorite news sources and, in my opinion, the most biased propaganda in America.  (Cause ALL news is corporate, and therfore, propaganda)

The other two images that I chose were very personal in nature. The Roma are a group of people originally from India that have over centuries, migrated throughout Europe. My great-grandmother was supposedly Roma and immigrated to this country around 1908. Throughout time, Roma have been persecuted by the dominant culture in which they reside and there are a lot of rumors and myths about their culture and beliefs. They have been labeled gypsies and are still treated as second class citizens in some countries. The image of the female sitting in front of the bookshelf is one of a 28 year old Roma that attended college in Prague. Many times media, myth, and ethnocentrism play a role in depicting Roma as dirty, panhandling, mystical nomads. The reality is most Roma are very superstitious, and they will at times practice such jobs as fortune telling and palm reading. Most Roma do not, however, put much stock in the actual reality of these soothsayer activities. But, in the interest of the project, I felt like I needed to validate that image a little since the quote does have to do with media controlling the minds of the masses…so therefore, I picked an image of a lady gazing into a crystal ball.

I did choose other, more accurate depictions of Roma in everyday life, but thought it best to choose the professional as the anchor (something that you would rarely see, especially in Europe) and the “gypsy” fortune teller as this was the best photograph I found on Google Images. Please refer to the above post for earlier drafts, and the top of this post for the original pictures.

Connections

I definitely see where the use of visual composition is sometimes both much more urgent and thoughtful than classical composition. As I stated earlier, the image I desired as a finished product jumped into my head within a matter of a few seconds. This rarely, if ever, happens in written composition (at least for me). In this way, technology was able to affect my thought processes in that I did not feel the need to “pre-write,” “draft,” “organize,” “research,” “re-draft,” “polish,” etc. in the way you would need to in writing. The steps were much more compacted…brainstorm, research, draft, polish…and in that order too, unlike with the writing process of Flowers and Hayes where the process is circular and fluid. Just as Tristan Tzara and Brion Gysin developed poems and artwork using the cut-up method, this project asks us to use the images we find in order to create something new (NMR 3, 90).

Some online resources for my StoneAge classes--or, just for English fun/further examples, etc.

Funny notes on commonly misspelled words:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling

Purdue University's (please accept me to your PhD program) Online Writing Lab notes on MLA 2009:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

and...APA 2009:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

****112 (TCC) [or] 111(ODU) STUDENTS****
Examples of the types of questions you could ask when performing your ethnographic interview
http://www.design4instruction.com/articles/pdf/The%20Ethnographic%20Interview.pdf

Sample ethnographic interview (this is an interview a pastor sets up for his worshipers while he is doing some research...the way he sets up the meeting and the types of questions he will be asking throughout the interview are explained in detail)
http://worshiplife.net/Interview%20Worshiplife%20Frame.htm

Some really cool info that I want to research further on teaching/writing/technology, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoCp3iUMhq0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyxjE1i9rsE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDUn1c4uxUE --Peter Elbow is my hero!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkr2KVr8Aa0&feature=PlayList&p=EDFB937A0564E3A9&index=0&playnext=1  HILARIOUS!! YOU may pee yourself laughing...but it is educational as well!!! AMAZING footage (did I mention it is pee your pants funny?) on creating Visual Arguments...great for Comp 2 students...or when you just need a good laugh...

uhm...more to come throughout the semester...

questions about blogs

Hey folks!
Okay...I checked it out...you CAN use your email.vccs.edu acct to create your blog on this site.

You just sign in using your email.vccs.edu full account AND password (same as the one used to sign in to your SIS or student email ((yay for not having to memorize yet another password!!)) and you are half way there).

First go to blogger.com and hit create a blog...then sign up...then you can start blogging...make sure you send me the http:// that has the _____.blogspot.com and not the profile with a bunch of numbers behind it one.

Like I said in class...this is your personal academic blog for the course...use it to your advantage to reponding to readings...brainstorm ideas...etc. contribute things you didn't get to contribute to the class discussions...ask for peer advice from your neighbors (yeah you can feel free to follow each other's blogs...once I get a list of them up on Bb).

So take advantage of the space and have fun with it...yes, it is a grade...but learning really can be fun...i promise...

intro to blogging

In order to create a blog, you must have a gmail account first! Do not forget about that!! Use this space to create ideas for writing, track your progress, thoughts about writing, etc. Remember that this is a public space...and once you say something on here, forever it shall remain for all posterity, stalkers, future employers, etc., to read...so, keep your academic ethos in check while posting. Sometimes I will give you a topic specificially to write about...sometimes I will let you choose...and sometimes, you can simply use this space to push yourself in your writing endeavors or respond/reflect on your learning and readings. Sooo...use this space wisely, and be creative. Don't forget, within the world of the internet, your audience varies greatly, so do not forget about having a good audience awareness before you hit "post"