For years, on Halloween, children dress up in costumes and take a small bag (or large depending on their amount of desired candy) and go from door to door and say "Trick or Treat." Often, the parents are behind the children telling them to say please, thankyou, Happy Halloween etc... Children look forward to this holiday for the entire month of October, it is a time to be your favorite superhero, princess, movie character, animal, anything. Halloween is a holdiay dedicated mainly to children.
I can still remember my first Halloween that I got to pick out my own costume, I was five years old and I wanted to be Cinderella. So one weekend, my mother took me to the disney store in the mall and I sifted through every single costume until I found the right one. I found one that was blue with silvery lacy stuff over it and a picture of Cinderella on the front. I got a crown and some black shoes (much to my dismay since Cinderella traditionally wore glass slippers). When I finally got to Halloween I took pictures all over the place in my costume, I toted my parents all over the neighborhood claiming that I really want to go to this or that house because I just do. For years after that, my parents simply followed me around while making small talk with neighbors along the way. Often a house would give parents a beer and as a young one my parents told me that it was like their trick or treat. So parents are not the main focus of Halloween, children are.
As for adults that do not have children, they go to parties. From what I understand, these parties are just like anyother party but with a twist so that they can call it a Halloween Party. They decorate in orange and black, serve pumpkin juice that is actually just an alcoholic drink, and they dress up in skanky costumes to be different on one night of the year. I would say that children get to be different, they get candy, and they get to see their friends while adults get to either be toted around as parents, or if they are going to a party, they dress up, drink alcohol, and a large percent of them wake up in the morning with a terrible hangover. I would say that the children get the largest benefit and Halloween is definately a children's holiday.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Toulmin Topic: Phantom Regimen v. Blue Devils
For my toulmin topic I am doing one regarding marching band. The Blue Devils and the Phantom Regimen are two outstanding professional bands. My claim for my topic is, The Blue Devils perform better than the Phantom Regimen. My reason is because they are nationally acclaimed, have become national champions more than once and based on survey, their drumline is better. The drumline in a marching band helps keep the band in time and is a big part of keeping a band together. Also, the Blue Devils have more incredible patterns where as the Phantom Regimen sticks to more simpler shapes. I got a coment that shared that the Blue Devils where cooler and, what was up with all the triangles in the Phantom Regimen? This shows that people realize that the Blue Devils have more complicated shapes and therefore must work harder. Also, by popular vote, the Blue Devils have cleaner marching which means that their lines will be better and they will perform a better show. This could possibly be due to the drumline's superiority as well. A good drumline will help the people in the corps stay together and therefore have cleaner marching. Also this year on August 14, 2010, the Blue Devils were announced as DCI champions. The Blue Devils obtiained a wonderful first place with a 98.9 point score while the Phantom Regimen obtained 6th place with 93.15 points. There were 10 competing bands. The Blue Devils also won both the semi finals and the quarter finals this year as well. Overall there is enough information to prove that the Blue Devils are superior to the Phantom Regimen.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Modern-Day Faustian Story
I have decided to create my own Faustain story.
Today, women wish for happy lives and prosperity. One such women named Sarah Golit was considered in all ways normal for she wished for these things as well. She was a single, working, mother of three who often chose the good of her children over the good of herself. On a chilly October morning she arrived to work only to be summoned to her boss's office. Her boss, Mr. Goodstein was not a good man at all. Sarah was his right-hand man so-to-speak and sadly she was catching up to him on the career ladder much too quickly. He quickly and softly told Sarah that she did not have the right work ethic (although she arrived at work early and had never taken a sick day except to take care of sick kids) and that he was letting her go. Sarah had 36 hours to pack up her personal items and be on her way. Immediately Sarah left the building and went to her car. She went to her mother's rest home where she planned on disscussing the day's events with her. Her mother was 87 and had suffered minor strokes and one heart attack prior to today. On October 30, 2009, Annie Golit passed due to a second, much more powerful heart attack. When Sarah arrived to Annie's suite and found her "watching tv" she screamed and ran out the door. The employees had not checked in on her for the past 2 days. The employee assigned to Annie was promptly fired and Sarah was left to her emotions. Like anyone would do, Sarah drove home in a daze and sat upon her bed for the next 3 hours mindlessly watching a silly cooking show that was at least a decade old. When the children arrived home on the bus they were immediately scared, their mother's face had taken on a cold, pale, stone-like quality. That evening when the children were asleep, albeit worried, Sarah was sitting in the backyard alone. At midnight, it started to rain and Sarah stayed outside under the porch where the rain did not touch her. The thunder started to roar and the lighting lit up the sky like a fluorecent light bulb. Sarah, still keeping her hard attitude, stayed outside when she saw a man walking through her yard. Her face suddenly lit up with aggression as she ran out to meet the man trespassing on her property. She held her fist high and ran to the man. His back was turned and hunched. She attempted to turn him around but the man swiftly turned and grabbed her by the arm. She saw his face and it was distorted with age, anger, and lack of sympathy. Sarah tried to scream but was somehow silenced though the man was only touching her wrist. We can not know what this man said to her only that the next day a call came from her office and offered her her job back with a promotion because her former boss had been fired for misconduct. Annie Golit was given a burial service beyond the means of both herself and of Sarah. Sarah herself suddenly aquired large sums of money that she passed off as bonuses from work and as money written off to her in her mother's will. Exactly 30 years later from her deal with whomever it was outside her house on Halloween morning, Sarah was involved in a violent car crash. Sarah passed but it was those that examined her body that were baffled for her injuries were far from consistant with car crash injuries. There was dismemberment and broken bones in her feet and skull. They found her heart completely removed though there was no entry wound to her body. We can assume what we would like from this legend; however, I personally prefer to think of it no more.
Today, women wish for happy lives and prosperity. One such women named Sarah Golit was considered in all ways normal for she wished for these things as well. She was a single, working, mother of three who often chose the good of her children over the good of herself. On a chilly October morning she arrived to work only to be summoned to her boss's office. Her boss, Mr. Goodstein was not a good man at all. Sarah was his right-hand man so-to-speak and sadly she was catching up to him on the career ladder much too quickly. He quickly and softly told Sarah that she did not have the right work ethic (although she arrived at work early and had never taken a sick day except to take care of sick kids) and that he was letting her go. Sarah had 36 hours to pack up her personal items and be on her way. Immediately Sarah left the building and went to her car. She went to her mother's rest home where she planned on disscussing the day's events with her. Her mother was 87 and had suffered minor strokes and one heart attack prior to today. On October 30, 2009, Annie Golit passed due to a second, much more powerful heart attack. When Sarah arrived to Annie's suite and found her "watching tv" she screamed and ran out the door. The employees had not checked in on her for the past 2 days. The employee assigned to Annie was promptly fired and Sarah was left to her emotions. Like anyone would do, Sarah drove home in a daze and sat upon her bed for the next 3 hours mindlessly watching a silly cooking show that was at least a decade old. When the children arrived home on the bus they were immediately scared, their mother's face had taken on a cold, pale, stone-like quality. That evening when the children were asleep, albeit worried, Sarah was sitting in the backyard alone. At midnight, it started to rain and Sarah stayed outside under the porch where the rain did not touch her. The thunder started to roar and the lighting lit up the sky like a fluorecent light bulb. Sarah, still keeping her hard attitude, stayed outside when she saw a man walking through her yard. Her face suddenly lit up with aggression as she ran out to meet the man trespassing on her property. She held her fist high and ran to the man. His back was turned and hunched. She attempted to turn him around but the man swiftly turned and grabbed her by the arm. She saw his face and it was distorted with age, anger, and lack of sympathy. Sarah tried to scream but was somehow silenced though the man was only touching her wrist. We can not know what this man said to her only that the next day a call came from her office and offered her her job back with a promotion because her former boss had been fired for misconduct. Annie Golit was given a burial service beyond the means of both herself and of Sarah. Sarah herself suddenly aquired large sums of money that she passed off as bonuses from work and as money written off to her in her mother's will. Exactly 30 years later from her deal with whomever it was outside her house on Halloween morning, Sarah was involved in a violent car crash. Sarah passed but it was those that examined her body that were baffled for her injuries were far from consistant with car crash injuries. There was dismemberment and broken bones in her feet and skull. They found her heart completely removed though there was no entry wound to her body. We can assume what we would like from this legend; however, I personally prefer to think of it no more.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Free Write: Rhetorical Usage
Everyone has read at least one book that they really enjoyed in their lifetime. Hopefully this favorite book has more words than pictures for most people. However, these books are often recommended to other readers who in turn enjoy these books as well. What makes one book stand out over another? Why do more teenagers read fiction about love rather than nonfictional biographies about the life of John Adams? A lot of this has to do with plot; that much is obvious. Personally, I would much rather read about a girl that falls in love compared to a book about John Adam's quarrel with Alexander Hamilton. However, we must also search in the way the information is presented. Biographies are meant to give out information in the quickest and most efficient way possible. Usually, they are not presented in a form that keeps a reader extremely entertained. Fiction stories would not be sold if they were not entertaining because the only value that comes from them is possibly a few new vocabulary words. If the plot is not presented correctly, nobody will find the book interesting and therefore there is no reason to read it. This compares to the biography's typically boring way of presentation, however; it still sells because it is historical, usually accurate, and the reader obtains some sort of useful information.
Rhetorical devices are often used in these best-selling books. Some typical ones used are bathos, clichés, diction, hyperboles, and similes. Bathos is used to invoke pity. In the fictional book about the teenager that falls in love either the main character/protagonist has usually had a bad life experience that stands out among the other characters. This experience is usually beyond ordinary and the reader usually cannot comprehend it. Therefore, the sad back-story of the character makes the reader feel pity for the character and makes the reader want to identify with the protagonist all the more. Clichés are sometimes used in the plot itself. What is more of a cliché than having two teenagers, one being a social outcast, another a popular football player, fall in love? This makes the reader feel happy for the social outcast and grateful to the jock and the book automatically has a decent chance at success. Diction is of course a way for an author to identify with its readers. Diction itself is just the use of words; however, the way diction/words are used is what makes it a popular device. If the book has its characters talk in the way the readers talk, then the readers identify with the characters more. Hyperboles are simply an overstatement. This is an example of imagery that helps the reader create a mental picture and again, identify with the story's characters more. A simile is the same thing but it compares two alike things to help the reader understand a situation. The commonality in all of these devices is the use of the devices to help the reader identify with characters. That is the key. The book about John Adams is just that, about John Adams so how can the reader relate. The history cannot be changed to help the reader understand it. However, fictional books can have a plot with millions of directions that the author can chose to help the reader identify with the plot, scheme, or characters. I believe that the use of rhetorical devices to help readers identify with stories is what makes most successful books successful.
Rhetorical devices are often used in these best-selling books. Some typical ones used are bathos, clichés, diction, hyperboles, and similes. Bathos is used to invoke pity. In the fictional book about the teenager that falls in love either the main character/protagonist has usually had a bad life experience that stands out among the other characters. This experience is usually beyond ordinary and the reader usually cannot comprehend it. Therefore, the sad back-story of the character makes the reader feel pity for the character and makes the reader want to identify with the protagonist all the more. Clichés are sometimes used in the plot itself. What is more of a cliché than having two teenagers, one being a social outcast, another a popular football player, fall in love? This makes the reader feel happy for the social outcast and grateful to the jock and the book automatically has a decent chance at success. Diction is of course a way for an author to identify with its readers. Diction itself is just the use of words; however, the way diction/words are used is what makes it a popular device. If the book has its characters talk in the way the readers talk, then the readers identify with the characters more. Hyperboles are simply an overstatement. This is an example of imagery that helps the reader create a mental picture and again, identify with the story's characters more. A simile is the same thing but it compares two alike things to help the reader understand a situation. The commonality in all of these devices is the use of the devices to help the reader identify with characters. That is the key. The book about John Adams is just that, about John Adams so how can the reader relate. The history cannot be changed to help the reader understand it. However, fictional books can have a plot with millions of directions that the author can chose to help the reader identify with the plot, scheme, or characters. I believe that the use of rhetorical devices to help readers identify with stories is what makes most successful books successful.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Five Stars for Ippolito's!
I have eaten at an Italian restaurant called Ippolito's many times before. It is a chain of nicer, family friendly Italian restaurants that always has a darker, candle light atmosphere. This is the sort of place where you can go in jeans and a t-shirt and still fit in even if the people next to you are eating after a nice occasion and are wearing dressy attire. When you walk in, there is hardly ever a wait for a table because there are so many tables and then when you sit, the kids get crayons and papers and the adults get menus. When I was younger, they used to give out pizza dough to the kids to play with as well, but later they took away the dough. Also, the waiters and waitresses always have a nice tone and never push you to finsih your dinner and leave.
In general, the restaurant is a nice place to sit and have a family dinner without having to make dinner yourself and be bothered by the dogs that want some scraps from the table. The food is delicious (I prefer the pesto tortellini) and the desserts are even better. I have been there for a nice dinner before the girl scout father daughter dance when I was 7, as well as for fun just after a movie and I never feel out of place or over/under dressed. I am always full when I leave because the portions do run a little large however, they are not excessively over packed with food. The price range is about eight to fifteen dollars per person depending on if you get both dinner and dessert and if you eat from the high or low end of the menu.
As they say, the proof is in the pudding. I myself have never been able to make tortellini quite as well as them and I consider myself to be a relatively good cook. My mother can not either and she is a formidable cook. The candle lit mood is perfect for a date but the extra lighting makes it okay for families as well. As I said earlier, the sevice is impecable and the price range is affordable, even on a teenager's budget. Overall, this is a nice restaurant perfect for most any occasion and I would reccomend it to anybody. Therefore, five stars for Ippolito's!
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