Blog 7

This is an essay for my Sociology of film class on post apocalyptic films and whether they affect the way people prepare and view such possible events happening in the future.


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Post Apocalyptic films, both exciting and terrifying, are one of the most popular forms of media for post apocalyptic fiction which has continues to be popular world wide. Post Apocalyptic fiction is enjoyed by cultures all over the world, and has been for well over a hundred years. Many of the post apocalyptic events have some substance of possibility of happening in our lifetimes, which makes them that much more entertaining and thought provoking. Armageddon for example was viewed by over one hundred million people world wide and netted over five hundred million dollars of profit. Heart pounding, mind racing, post apocalyptic films blend adrenalin and thought in one experience. The catastrophes- asteroids, pandemics, zombies, tidal waves, exct.- are based on events that science has deemed remotely possible. Some of these evetns are certainly more plausible than others, but they all hold some form of possibility. Thinking about the possibility of the end of the world, the viewers of post apocalyptic films are engaged in the films in ways that other films are unable to do. These films affect the way that people prepare and think about the potential end of the world and certain films which I will examine have had more affect on viewers than others.

Blog 6

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The Ford Torres, dented and old, pulls into the supermarket parking lot. The orange Rosauers sign lights up the empty street in front of it. Heart pounding, mind racing, Doug walks slowly through the front doors.  He plays with the necklace hanging across his chest, a St. Christopher's medal, and runs through the twelve steps in his mind. His feet had a mind of their own however, and he can see the beer coolers coming into view. Heart still pounding, mind still racing, he peers down the long aisle of refrigerators full of that golden magic. Pounding, pounding, pounding in his ears as he reaches for the cool metallic handle.

"Dammit Doug, Dammit Doug" he mumbles under his breath.

He quickly shuts the door and backs away, no beer in hand.

"Don't do this, don't do this." he repeats again and again as he clutches the medal around his neck.

Heart pounding, mind still racing, he rushes out the front doors and into his car, old and abused. Slamming his fists into the steering wheel, he continues to mumble the twelve steps under his breath, a growing mantra in his life. Gears grinding, tires squealing, the old Ford Torres turns onto the highway carrying Doug- heart pounding, mind racing- and a twelve pack of beers.

Blog 5

I went tailgating this weekend, in Seattle, with family and friends. We pitched our tent, grill, canopy, and chairs (everything needed for a successful tailgate.) Our list of food included mostly what you would expect to find at a tailgate: burgers, hot dogs, chips, crackers and dip, cheese, veggie platters, and wings. We had an array of beverages, which is obviously also needed for a tailgate- at least a successful one. There was soda, beer, wine, rum (which is my favorite), and jello shots. My five year old niece joined us, who is still new to tailgating, but she had a great time non the less. Everything went great for our pre game festivities. Because the Cougars were playing the second best team in the country, non of us were too optimistic about our teams chances. The game was close through the first half- which surprised most in the stadium- but the cougars are the cougars. Until the second half of the game everything had gone just great that day. Whoever thought the Cougars actually stood a chance may be a crazy person, or maybe just a die hard fan. After the whole day's events I was sure tired at the end of the night. In the end I am still glad that I attended the game (perhaps disappointed in my team), but happy regardless.

Blog 4

Something that I need to be really careful of in my writing is comma splices. Yesterdays lessons was very much beneficial to me, and although I had been taught these rules before, a reminder lesson is always useful. We talked about how sometimes we write the same way we speak, but academic writing should not be like the way we speak. Because so much of our writing is now informal, such as email or twitter, students can fall into the habit of always writing informally. I must remember to keep the audience and the type of writing in mind, for if I write a academic essay the same way I write email, I will run into a low grade, or even a failing one. Since the internet has become so popular and continues to become more popular, this problem of informal writing will probably continue. If the assignment calls for informal writing, as I have seen, then the student can write how they usually speak, yet this is not as common as formal academic writing assignments. Unfortunately many young students are not very good at formal academic writing, nor do they see the need to improve at it.  Before we had the internet, academic writing was about all there was, but that is not the case anymore, so we need to make sure our students understand the differences between formal and informal writing as we continue moving forward with technology.

Blog 2

So far this semester I have become much more efficient in finding mistakes in everyday written work. We spent multiple classes looking through different magazines looking for mistakes or examples of what we had been working on. I have started to see these patterns, mistakes, or examples in writings outside of class. It is when this starts to happen that I know I am getting something out of that particular class. So often I learn something in class that doesn’t apply to my everyday life so when I started noticing more of these things that we have discussed in class, I know it has been worthwhile. 

I think it is important to continue to look at how language is used, especially for me since I want to write for a living. AS A STUDENT I WOULD COMPLETE ASSIGNMENTS AND DO ONLY WHAT IS REQUIRED; AS A WRITER I HAVE BEGUN TO EXPLORE THE ENGLISH LANGUAG AND HOW IT IS SPOKEN AND WRITTEN AND HOW THAT HAS CHANGED OVER TIME. IT IS THAT WHOSE WRITING INCORPORATES THESE CHANGES IN THE LANGUAGE THAT WILL RESONATE WITH THE READER. Language and everything that goes along with that is my tool. I need to explore, question, and move toward mastering this language if I want to be any kind of writer. 

I have learned some new things in this course and it has especially helped me to open my eyes to the written and spoken English language that is used everyday. I need to know how the language is changing and adapting to our changing culture. As more ways of media arise, new words and rules will also arise in the language. I look forward to the rest of the semester and what new things it  might open up for me.

Blog 1

For this semester in English 326, I hope to greatly improve my grammar in writing, as well as my everyday speaking grammar. I know I need to speak professionally and correctly everyday as this will affect others impressions of me. Speaking everyday with strong grammar will make me seem more professional, educated, motivated, articulate...
There are a couple places in my grammar where I really need improvement. Comma splices have always brought my papers down.
"The sun is hot, put on some sunblock."
This is an example of a comma splice. This sentence should be broken up into two, as there are two separate things being said.  I think the reason I really have a problem with comma splices is because I type like I speak. I pretty much type what I am saying in my head when working on the assignment. My everyday language is not as academic as academic papers should sound. So the first draft could be written using this method, but I really need to go back and  check my work and make sure I don't have too much informal language.
Another big problem for me in grammar is deciding when to begin a new paragraph or continue onto the old. For the longest time I would simply start a new paragraph when it "seemed" appropriate. I really hope this course teaches me some proper techniques in exactly when to begin a new paragraph. This doesn't apply to my speaking grammar, as we don't speak in paragraphs, but it will help my writing. Whether it is academic, informal, prose, email....