Closing Statements

And so this class ends as I slide a folder underneath the office door like I’m part of a heist. What a great way to end it: as randomly as it began for me. It feels almost surreal that I will never get to experience this class again, and it saddens me. I really enjoyed everyone’s company and will remember some of the great discussions that we had. I hope that all of you take the time to continue the blogs. I myself find that I enjoy talking about whatever I want without interruption. We all know how much I like to talk, but I digress. This class was a lot of fun, and I will take a lot of its lessons with me. I believe that we now have a better power to persuade, and I might go far enough to consider this one of my new talents. I have discovered my writing style, and I feel confident after completing a paper. Confidence is something that used to lack in the completion of a writing assignment, so that last part is pretty significant in my book. I learned the rules, and then was told it was okay, and beneficial to break them. How cool is that? Very cool! I wonder if it is still a bad rhetorical question if you answer it…. Apparently the one thing I didn’t learn in this class is how to avoid provoking your teacher’s pet peeve. Well, just letting you know that Frank the Platypus will remain open and somewhat updated in the near future, and I pressure you all to do the same. If not, good luck with your futures, class, and if I don’t see you have a good life!

This Is The Title Of My Last Blog Post, Believe It Or Not

Tuesday marked the beginning of my Great Facebook Social Experiment. Beginning at 6 PM, I started a week-long project in which I would use my phone to update my status on Facebook to detail every single thing I do throughout the day.

I've been falling a bit lax on the project in the past 24 hours, but I remain committed to my cause. Granted, I don't really know exactly what my cause is, but I know it's important. Part art project, part social experiment, I have found the process interesting and illuminating, as well as exhausting and mind-numbing. To explain it to my roommate, I referenced the only episode I have ever seen of "Dharma and Greg," in which Dharma lives in the window of a museum for a week as a living exhibit. Luckily for me, that episode is also the only one my roommate has seen of that show, so he understood exactly where I was coming from.

The data is still being collected (right now I am "doing homework" -- a rarely-seen status update, even during finals week), but looking back on my week, I have already learned one thing: I don't do anything ever. My roommate and I have been watching "The Wire" on DVD, so a huge amount of my updates just say "Danny is watching 'The Wire.' "

I also had diarrhea on Thursday, so it was extremely embarrassing to frequently have to write, "Danny is in the bathroom." Of course, I just flat-out said I had diarrhea in this post, but it was much more embarrassing to know that everyone else knew I was on the toilet right that very second.

One downside is that it completely prevents me from lying about where I am or what I'm doing. I learned that in my first day of the experiment, when a friend invited me to a place I did not want to go to, only to respond with, "No you're not," when I tried to claim I was busy. "You're watching TV right now," he insisted.

The experiment rages on, but here are some notable status updates from the past week, as well as the feedback I have gotten from various observers (last names edited to protect my friends from having to admit they are friends with me):

10:18pm Danny is watching Bodnar do the rest of the dishes and talking to Jake, Rae and Jon.

10:40pm Danny is feeding Antony.
10:42pm Danny is feeding Apollo.
10:50pm Danny is back in the kitchen, talking to Jon, Jake, Rae and Bodnar again.

11:16pm Elizabeth: i'm loving this, by the way.

11:46pm Danny is watching Bodnar try to empty Apollo's anal glands.
11:55pm Elena: oh dear...
11:56pm Danny is outsmarting Apollo. He can't hide his asshole from 4 of us!

3:30pm Danny is making a salad.
3:39pm Danny is eating a salad.
3:45pm Danny is making burritos. Salad just ain't enough, man.

10:21am Danny is showering.
10:38am Danny is drying off.
10:39am Danny is getting dressed.

7:58pm Danny is drinking.

8:14pm Otis: ...again.

8:15pm Danny is considering punching Otis when he gets home.
8:15pm Otis: ...again.

It's important to note that "Otis" is more commonly known as Mr. Otis - my English teacher sophomore year of high school.

Frank's Last Stand

For my last blog post I thought it would be appropriate to talk about how much I enjoyed this class. Being able to write and respond to topics on a blog every week was very engaging, and was something that I never would have expected for a Comm B course. It was also fun to have discussions during class time. Being a senior, it seems that a majority of the classes that I’ve taken over the past two years have been people going for the same major, and it was refreshing if not reminiscent of freshmen year, to be able to interact regularly with people going on different paths once again.
For the remainder of my blog, I think I’ll talk about what I did today (yes this may seem like a lame move, but play along this could be fun). I started off the day by waking up at around 8 o’clock and deciding right away that I was going to skip the first and only class I had today. Instead I decided to go for a run with my black lab, Jaeger. After cleaning myself up and having a bite to eat I started to do some laundry, while convincing myself that I was doing homework; in reality I was actually playing video games with my roommates. Not to soon after my distraction I put in another round of laundry, and went outside to work on my truck; the four wheel drive has been giving me some trouble lately, but I think that I can get it to work better if I could just engage the actuator manually, as opposed to using the malfunctioning, electric, push-button in the cab. After much fiddling and cussing, I emerged from beneath the truck both cold and greasy, however my frozen keister seems to have not been in vain, for my scheme seems to be working. In order to reward myself I made a delicious meal of jambalaya and a venison steak marinated in my own secret jalapeño BBQ sauce, with some homemade pecan pie for a dessert (I really enjoy cooking- a skill inherited from my mother I believe- and though unorthodox, pies have always been my specialty). Finally at the end of the day, I find myself at my computer writing this blog. Perhaps later I may go out and have a beer at the Essen Haus, with my roommates, but that has yet to be determined.
As this is my final post, I would like to thank all you dedicated fans for following my work these long months. I would also like to give a special thanks to my most dedicated fan, Christine, who has followed all of my posts. Thanks again, and please be gentle on the grading.

Asian Carp - Who Needs 'Em?

Why, hello.

Frank the Platypus will be focusing on the menace that is known as Asian Carp for its research project.

For those of you who have already forgotten our life-changing PowerPoint presentation, let me refresh your memory:

Asian Carp are bad. They are invading our bodies of water and killing everything. They must be stopped before they take over the Great Lakes. They can also jump out of the water and kill you. They want nothing less than to destroy all of us.

And, if you're stumped, the answer to our word search was, " 'Get involved and save your Great Lakes!' says Frank the Platypus." Congratulations to everyone who solved it, and congratulations to the members of Frank the Platypus, who created it.

Leave your thoughts on our project in the comments, please. Don't worry, we will accept negative feedback, although we prefer stuff like, "You guys are awesome!" and attractive girls' numbers.

Good night, happy Thanksgiving, and remember: save a turkey, eat a carp.

When I Was a Young Warthog

I always enjoyed watching Disney movies. When I was little, I remember that my movie choice was only concerned with the one row on the shelf that was slightly bigger than the others (those Disney cases didn’t fit in the other rows). Now my movie selection is a little bigger, but I still find myself from time to time watching a classic. I remember once when I was almost seventeen and decided to watch the Lion King. It was Friday night and I was at my house by myself, and it seemed like a great way to add to how pathetic it was. It’s different to watch a Disney movie when you are older because you actually understand what’s going on and don’t just enjoy the cartoon colors and toddler jokes. I remember watching Timon and Pumba singing “Hakuna Matata” and the idea that it sparked in my head. It completely changed my perception of High School and got me through its rigorous trials. I will never forget that phrase that was sung to me by a warthog, and….whatever Timon is. I was enlightened by their message. I can only hope that I was a late bloomer in realizing that life shouldn’t be taken so seriously. I hope that all the other children that watched that movie were able to take out of it a great life lesson, and I’m sure that is Walt Disney’s intent in his movies…well that and making money. It is interesting to consider Disney movies rhetorically, because it is now clear to see how these movies convey their message. Bright colors, song and dance, comedy, and other factors that stimulate the imagination are the foundation of these movies. The producers do a great job of sparking the imagination of its audience in a way that enables them to portray a clear message of happiness and bliss. I hope that Disney movies are not out of date by the time I have children so that I can share with them the messages that they taught me. Also, it will provide me with an excuse to legitimately own the whole collection.

Genre

Like most people, one thing that I’ve found to move me is music. However, what makes me a little different than a vast majority of my peers is that I like country music. To me, country is a fascinating genre in its ability to evoke different emotional responses through lyrical use. Mixing the satirical with the serious or the romantic with the comical. One such piece that I’ve always found both catchy and fascinating is “Queen of my Doublewide” by Sammy Kershaw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncGZWQGkNzc&NR=1

In the song Sammy sings about his pursuit of a down home debutante and about how it is the simple (if not hoaky) pleasures in life that makes them happy. At first glance one might think that this is purely meant as a love song, the classic story of a man trying to woo the object of his affection. However, classic of the country music genre, the song also has a humorous appeal.
Country fans and musicians love to poke fun at their own absurdities, this can be seen in the clever lyrical composition of the song at hand. Often times in society using a trailer as a home is rather looked down upon, reflected in such derogatory terms as trailer trash, etc. This song takes that image and puts it on its ear, proposing that living the life of a trailer dweller (though perhaps tacky as represented by the “polyester curtains and redwood deck”, and especially reflected in the music video) can be luxurious if not preferable to other ways of life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuu_i65c-1M&feature=channel

Similar rhetorical usage can be seen in Sammy Kershaw’s, “Vidalia”. Which at first glance is simply a song about a guy in his pursuance of a girl who’s name is a combination of her mother, Violet’s, and her father, Dale’s, names. But again the song has a humorous undertone. For some background info, a vidalia is a type of onion that is particularly sweet and grown exclusively in the Vidalia region of Georgia (analogous to that of the Champagne region of France, I suppose). So it adds to the humor of the piece, supposing that the relationship between a man and an ironically named girl have similar effects as dealing with her namesake.
These and other songs like it are why I listen to country music. Because what better way to nurse a broken heart, or temper the frustration of being rejected, than by adding a little levity to what you're listening to.

Who Reads The Watchmen? Me, That's Who.

Aside from pretty much everything Kurt Vonnegut has ever written, the most influential piece of literature for me has been Watchmen by Alan Moore. First of all, let's set something straight: yes, it is a comic book. But for god's sake, do not let that deter you from reading it. After all, I guarantee you all of your friends will be declaring next March that "the movie wasn't as good as the book," whether or not they have even read it. So do yourself a favor and pick it up, no matter how embarrassing the prospect of buying a graphic novel may be.

In short, the story is of an alternate universe very similar to Earth, although Richard Nixon is now in his fifth term as President. A disbanded group of superheroes who used to protect America are forced to join together once again to solve the murder of one of their former team members, The Comedian. This is a very, very basic plot synopsis, of course.

The novel is effective not so much because it is a comic book, but because it completely goes against genre. I have always enjoyed reading comic books, but up until Watchmen, they were always something I could read if I didn't want to think too hard. Superman is good, Lex Luthor is evil, Superman wins. Not too challenging, but entertaining nonetheless. Watchmen flipped that all on its head, blowing my teenage mind. Superheroes are tortured alcoholics, sexually impotent, or just plain evil. And most importantly, a lot of them don't care about the people they save.

The story could easily have been successful as a regular novel, but its publication as a graphic novel greatly increases its psychological effect. Why describe the vacant eyes of Dr. Manhattan (easily in my top three favorite fictional characters of all time - a man who, as a result of an atomic experiment gone wrong, has powers comparable to God and who grows increasingly removed from and apathetic towards human society as a whole) when they can be shown in beautiful, realistic color drawings? Similarly, the fact that it is "merely" a comic book forces it to be compared to other comic books, not other novels. Dr. Manhattan draws obvious comparisons with Superman, so the reality of his character is made all the more apparent compared to the often two-dimensional alter ego of Clark Kent. Nite Owl and his multitude of gadgets is similar to Batman, which makes his impotence, depression, and weight gain after retirement even more strikingly realistic in comparison.

But the most important effect Watchmen had on me - and thousands others, I'm sure - is that it took the average, childish comic book and transformed it into a respected medium, one that pushes the boundaries, is able to be self-reflective and self-critical, and that is definitely not for kids. Therefore, it was no surprise to me when it was only one of two graphic novels on Time's list of All Time 100 Greatest Novels a few years ago (the other was Maus, another boundary-demolishing graphic novel about the Holocaust, in which the Jews are mice and the Nazis are cats).

So go on, don't be afraid to pick up a comic book. They're not for kids anymore.

(Full disclosure: while Watchmen is incredibly realistic and culturally important, it does obey the Traditional Comic Book Rules by momentarily including a giant alien squid. So a reasonable amount of suspended belief is required.)

$2 bottles, $4 pitchers, Free Democracy

Presidents come and presidents go, in my lifetime I have seen the rise and fall of four of these leaders. However, this time was different in that I actually got to participate in the selection as opposed to just watching from the sidelines. Even though I did not choose the current president elect, I get to watch the rise of another leader. But what is to become of him, what will my children learn about him in school. Will he be remembered as the first black president? Will he be remembered as the savior of a nation, or simply as a publicity stunt that failed once in office? As of now it is impossible to say, but what I do know now is if I’m ever asked what my thoughts, feelings, and experiences were during the election of Obama, I’ll be able to tell a story similar to this.
It was a pleasantly warm November eve, the autumn leaves were just decending from their zenith, and a majority lied in scattered piles along the sidewalk. Several friends and I were making our way to an east side pub in order to watch the results unfold on CNN (money was tight in those days, and cable seemed to be a luxury better replaced by food, electricity, and other necessities) and perhaps imbibe in some spirits.
Once we entered , we found our place at the bar, figured out the cheapest drink specials, and began to watch the events unfold. I remember states changing color, the bizarreness of a newscaster talking to a hologram, and the sweet taste of a newly discovered cheap beer. I remember Obama’s commanding lead, McCain’s decreasing optimism, and a pretty outrageous Jon Steward/Corbert show. But what I remember most of all is the people; from red necks to hippies and professors to hobos, to me the people were the truly memorable occurrence of that night. Like the aged, long-haired, graduate student/TA, who compared the current election atmosphere to that of the 60's. To the very inebriated McCain supporters, who stumbled in after hearing of his certain loss. To the dirty wino, with the strangely new and expensive looking Ipod around his neck, who talked to me about his apathy for elections.
So the night went on; bottles turned to pitches, pitchers to mixed drinks, and mixed drinks turned to shots. The next morning (OK it was afternoon), my friends and I discussed the happenings of the night before. We realized that however different we all are, by the end of the night we all still had the same leader and expected leader that still has a big job ahead of them. So maybe when my children ask me about the day Obama was elected president, instead of telling them of his strengths or weaknesses, I can tell them how the election made me realize that elections are meant to bring a country together, rather than separate it into shades of red and blue. Then maybe, just maybe, I can leave out the part about being in a drunken stupor.

The Most Influential Novel For Me Was - What? New Topic? Crap.

Here I was all ready to post this week, and right before I started typing I got an emergency e-mail alerting me to change the topic to the election. So I'm just going to wing it.

Did you know Barack Obama was elected to be the 44th president last night? Apparently he was!

The second I got out of class on Tuesday, I raced home and kept CNN on all day. My roommates and I tried to do our homework, but mostly focused on that damn magic wall Wolf Blitzer is so fond of. We anxiously glanced back and forth from the clock to the TV, awaiting the minute the first polls would close.

But first, CNN had to BLOW OUR MINDS when they started conducting interviews via hologram. Holy crap. I swear, our reaction to the futuristic interview was almost bigger than Obama's victory.

Holograms or not, the instant the polls in the east closed, our homework was pushed aside and we spent the rest of the night glued to the TV as Anderson, Wolf, and their enormous room of 6 million people with computers tried to make sense of the sheer volume of numbers and "CNN Projection" graphics being thrown at us.

Of course, it quickly became apparent who would win, and before even half the states had been called, CNN already played out a hypothetical situation in which McCain would win every single remaining state, excluding California, Washington, and Oregon, and he still would not have enough to win. We were ecstatic, so we felt free to turn over to Comedy Central to watch Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart interpret the results, clearly enjoying themselves and the way the election was going.

In fact, the first time we heard the phrase, "Barack Obama has been elected president," was from Jon Stewart's mouth. Which is a perfect indication of the way the political culture has been transformed, I have to say. The Daily Show team then performed some antics about what they were going to do with their lives now that the election was over, but we were too thrilled to care.

I then spent the rest of the night celebrating while attempting to contact my sister, who was in Grant Park in Chicago watching the next president speak LIVE (a futile attempt, since everyone in Grant Park was trying to use their cell phones at the same time so no one could get service).

Overall, it was a great night, and I rewarded myself by skipping all my classes today.

Everyone Not in Frank The Platypus Sucks

In approaching our research projects, I am not nervous in the slightest about the open-endedness of it all. Instead, it excites me. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do a project for class on anything I want. It's so much better than the other project I'm working on currently - an essay arguing that philosophers are better than sophists. SNORE.

When the projects were first announced, and the rules - or lack of rules - established, I had almost too many ideas. Should we do a movie for the university? A small novel? Should we campaign for Obama by ironically campaigning for Palin? What about writing a song? Didn't the song "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" by Vampire Weekend start out as one of the band member's senior thesis? Am I asking too many rhetorical questions in an assignment for a class that repudiates the use of rhetorical questions?

I have a few ideas swirling around in my head, and one that I'm particularly keen on. (As if I would share it with you so you could steal it.) The challenge now is to force the ideas to settle down and calmly line up against a brick wall, so we can execute them one by one until only one is left alive. And then it's safe to assume that the lone idea will be uncooperative, seeing as all of his friends were just murdered by us, so the really difficult task is to get him to work with us in a friendly manner so that our research project will make everyone else in the class sob when they realize they are inferior.

This is a competition, right?

The Quest for Greatness

When considering a research project, I always try to think big. I want to do something that has not been done before. The problem with that is it is very difficult to find something that was not already done, and it’s getting even harder. Students are getting more creative all the time. My greatest desire is to do something ground-breaking, but I would settle for something intriguing. Even to think of something intriguing is a difficult task in itself, especially for someone like me. I am incapable of making decisions in a timely manner. I sometimes have trouble deciding what to blog about.
Creating a research topic is hard enough with one person. Perhaps it could help to have three heads thinking about it, or perhaps it will be even harder to come together and choose one that we all want to do. I just nope that history does not repeat itself as it always does when it comes to group projects in a class. I find myself wondering if I will end up being jealous of every other group’s idea. Maybe this time will be different. This is my time to shine. Danny, Johnny and I are going to buckle down, get aggressive, and dominate this research proposal.
I feel like nobody really cares about what I’m saying right now. They are too busy worrying about their own projects. They don’t want to listen to me complain about how amazing I am incapable of being. The jokes on whoever reads this blog, I have just wasted some of your creative time. We’ve got an edge boys, let’s do this!

Politics & Popular Culture

With the continuing advancements in technology, so grows the average man’s access to the world around him. Why not more than one hundred years ago, the average American would be lucky to get a daily, if not weekly paper that, other than hearsay and word of mouth, was his only connection to the outside world, and ultimately politics. Now with the numerous advancements in technology (such as T.V., the internet, blackberrys, etc.), a sea of information is now available within arms length, and a touch of a button. So to has politics become so easily available to us. And, as with anything that is easily accessible and widely used by a society, politics has merged with our pop-culture. I feel that this merger is accompanied with many pro’s and con’s.
One thing that I feel is gained through this merger, is that it can make politics more entertaining. Taking some of the stuffiness out of politics, I feel helps get people more interested with it, and hopefully in the end more involved. Another thing that is gained is the fact that in order to be in pop culture it must be simplified in order to hold people’s attention. Listening to, “The senator holding the floor sites Article VI, blah, blah, blah” is not going to hold the public’s attention. So pop culture simplifies politics in a way that more people can understand and relate to. Which also hopefully gets more people interested and involved in politics.
However, this is also a con of the merger of politics and popular culture, because of the power possessed by the media, to show its interpretation of politics, to the public. No matter what type of media you look at, whether it be a morning newspaper, an opinionated web page, or the evening news, chances are that an article will show a hint of bias in its report. Unlike days of old, when one of the only ways of knowing what a candidate had to says was through a public speech, we are constantly barraged by various types of media, suggesting what a person should or should not think. Unfortunately, this can have a profound effect on the non-observant viewer, who may not think carefully about what he or she may have just heard.
In the end of things, having politics and popular culture mixed together is like eating chocolate syrup and peanut butter. In small amounts, its delightful and satisfying. But, have a whole lot of it, and it can make you sick to your stomach.

Politics and SNL: A Retrospective; Or, An Excuse To Post Classic SNL Clips And Get A Grade For It

These days, politics and pop culture seem practically inseparable. Politicians regularly make the late night talk show rounds along with celebrities (John McCain's most recent appearance on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" preceded an appearance by Amber Tamblyn, who apparently is an actress or something), and millions of teenagers and young adults get the majority of their political news from political comedy shows, such as "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report." But the most influential aspect of this merging of politics and pop culture over the past 30 years has been "Saturday Night Live."

From its very first season, SNL has altered the political landscape through farce and mostly top-notch impressions. Even though Chevy Chase's Gerald Ford was a completely terrible impression (he didn't even attempt to alter his looks or voice), Chase managed to take one or two instances of clumsiness by the President and turned it into his defining characteristic through a series of dramatic falls and stumbles on the show. This was the first - and still one of the most important - instances of SNL shaping national politics. In his response to Chevy Chase's impression, Gerald Ford also shaped the way politicians should react to SNL's political satire. He laughed along with everyone else as Chase made him into a fool, even making a couple appearances on the show. In fact, in Ford's obituary, Chevy Chase's impression was mentioned.

Since that notable first impression, SNL has enjoyed a rich history of noteworthy political humor that often shapes the politican's image in the public's mind more than the actual politician does. The most recent example, of course, is Tina Fey's impression of Sarah Palin, which has been receiving an insane amount of press. Fey has managed to turn Palin into more or less an idiot who simply pretends to know what she is talking about while relying on pre-scripted talking points. The most important part of Fey's sketches is that many of her lines are actual quotes of Sarah Palin's, which are blended seamlessly with made-up quotes until the lines between satire and truth are completely blurred. Through her impression, Fey may have completely destroyed Palin's crafted image and credibility in the public's eye.

And now, because it's so entertaining, here is one of Tina Fey's appearances as Sarah Palin:


Although it is clear that SNL has had an impact on shaping the image of politicians over the past 30 years, it's hard to say whether that impact is positive or negative. Granted, SNL and other political comedy shows have brought politics to a level of public awareness that was once unprecedented, but they also have helped to reduce the political process to a series of caricatures. These days, many people base their vote on trivial things, such as which candidate is more likable, or who Oprah tells them to vote for. This has gotten more people to vote and get involved in the political process, but whether or not that end result is worth the lack of substance is up for you to decide.

And now, one more video. This time, a classic:

You See, the Thing About Rhetoric....

In my opinion, there are a great deal of advantages that can be gained by being well versed in rhetorical analysis. First off, it offers you an opportunity to review something that you may or may not agree with, and look at it under a magnifying glass. While analyzing a piece, not only are you able to evaluate how effective it is as a piece of rhetoric, but you’re also able to take it in and form your own opinion on the topic that they are presenting to you.
Another advantage to analyzing other people’s rhetorical pieces, is that it prepares you to pick apart other people’s arguments. Once you’ve practiced picking apart someone’s statement, it will be much easier for you to find the errors in someone else’s argument after practicing it a few times. Lets say that you are in a debate with a friend of yours, after the things that we’ve practiced, if they state a logical fallacy, you will be able to more efficiently pick through the contradiction, and form a witty response that will support your own cause, or help them strengthen their own cause. Also, you can always make you and your point sound more well founded, if you say something to the effect of, “You sir, are using scare tactics to excel your views.” Just simply being able to practice to find out what is wrong with a written piece, helps one find out what is wrong, on the spot, with what is coming out of someone’s mouth, while preparing their own rhetorical appeal.
Analyzation of another’s rhetoric can also make you a better rhetorician yourself. As is true with any learned skill, not only does practice make perfect, but so does watching the winners and losers of that skill, learning from their trials and tribulations. So to with rhetoric, by judging the strengths and weaknesses of someone else’s piece, so to are you able to better find the weaknesses in your own writing, and play off of the strengths that you already possess. By seeing what someone does wrong, or by what someone does right, you can keep these facts in mind when you are composing your own piece.
We as people, don’t just evaluate rhetoric when we are given an assignment by a teacher, we are always evaluating other people’s statements and opinions on a daily basis. It seems that no matter where we are, or what we are doing, we are never to far from experiencing a rhetorical appeal from someone. Whether it be from a politician in front of an audience of hundreds of thousands of supporters and those who are in opposition of their view, or just ourselves, B.S.ing with that guy who doesn’t shut up at the Kwik Trip down the street, rhetoric is everywhere. Being more familiar with the various aspects of rhetoric helps us formulate, as well as evaluate, other people’s appeals.

Rhetoric Sweet Rhetoric

I enjoy something that is hard for a man to explain. It happens mostly when the television is on, but it also comes into play in those big lecture halls and when my mother rants. I watch the person talk and hear the noises that they make, but my brain just is not ready for information. It helps keep me sane by filtering out the extras, because I ca not listen to every piece of random information that is thrown at me. Now I take a class that begins to train my brain to evaluate who the television is targeting, how they are conveying their message, and what the situation is for the audience. My head is beginning to hurt with the exercise that it gets listening to the commentary during a football game. I almost did not notice those men existed until I began to evaluate the way they appeal to their audience with their excited voices and word choice. This headache that lingers as my overworked brain analyzes rhetoric is something I had attempted to avoid. Just as a child in elementary school will realize that although they do not want to go to school, they will need the knowledge that it brings in the future. I too must accept that this headache is in fact a wealth of knowledge that will greatly enhance my future in marketing. It is very beneficial for me to be able to identify with my audience and know the best way to convey the message that my employer wants the company to send.

What I am trying to say here is, in my opinion, there is plenty to be gained from rhetorical analysis. Unlike Calculus class, I believe the knowledge from class to be information that can and will be used in my future, whether it is to manipulate my future wife, deciding who to vote for, or getting consumers to purchase scrunchies again. I will continue throughout this class to practice rhetorical analysis with enthusiasm because it serves a purpose for me. I agree with those who say that it is selfish only to practice rhetorical analysis because it benefits me, however, remember that I am paying for college so it is only fair to expect something in return. You should also keep in mind the benefit to society if I am able to become talented enough with rhetoric to bring back the scrunchie.

I'm a PC, and This is My Rhetorical Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkZdkHylJ3w

It is almost comparable to the shots taken by presidential candidates in the campaign advertisements the way that Macintosh and Microsoft have competed on television. The newest commercial is by Windows, the link is at the top of the blog. The claim made in this commercial is a form of metonymy which stereotypes people who use Microsoft computers by having those people introduce themselves as PC’s. A PC refers to the computers that use Microsoft Windows. The advertisement was made in response to a series of commercials made by Macintosh. These commercials use personification, having one actor portray a Mac and the other portrays a PC. The actor playing the Mac is shown as both smarter and more efficient than its PC counterpart.

My gut reaction to this claim is one of a PC user who wishes he had a Mac. I see people from many different ways of life all claiming to use a PC, and speak as though they are proud of it. It is a pathetic appeal that uses a bandwagon approach to try and sway a wavering audience. It is a bandwagon approach because it shows everyone is the same. Some that would argue that it is dogmatism would only be oblivious to the previous commercial that triggered this retaliation from Microsoft, which most people in the audience already know as the other alternative. It is a wavering audience because there is no evidence to prove that consumers watching this commercial are not completely dedicated to Macintosh or PC’s.

This commercial is unsuccessful in my opinion because it does not persuade one of their biggest consumers. The commercial shows adults in their different careers all representing Windows, but it fails to show any college students happy with their PC. College students should be the main focus of their marketing. However, on the other side, perhaps Windows has conceded to Macintosh in the competition for college students. According to another Mac commercial, the Notebook (Mac’s featured laptop) is owned by more college students than any other laptop.

One thing that is known is that these companies are both gaining support as the demand for computers rises along with our technological advances. The competition is over who will get a bigger share of the profits. The electoral college of consumers is split down the middle. It all comes down to who will win Florida, but will all the votes be counted in time?

Larry the Cable Guy vs. David Cross: WHO YOU GOT?!

I know everyone is going to be trying to analyze very serious arguments and persuasive speeches this week, so I decided to one-up the competition and discuss the most serious argument of our time: the ongoing feud between David Cross and Larry the Cable Guy.

Yes, believe it or not, these two comedy superstars do not like each other. It all started when Cross made fun of the Cable Guy's particular brand of "lowest denominator" humor. The Cable Guy (assuming that is, in fact, his real last name) lashed out at Cross, calling him an elitist and accused him of belittling his audience, along with a varied assortment of personal attacks. David Cross then issued an open letter (editorial, unfair, and unbalanced comment: if you have time, read the letter - he really tears Larry the Cable Guy a new asshole), stoking the fire of this devastating conflict that has ruined so many lives and families already.

At first glance, the open letter is a classic ad hominum argument. He accuses the Cable Guy's stand-up act as being "racist" and "stupid," while also attacking his "millionaire-in-disguise facade" of being a "good old boy" while living in Minnesota and speaking without a Southern accent.

The defendant.

But upon further inspection, the persuasive argument is actually relatively fair and effective (although with slightly more profanity than usual public debates). Cross establishes an ethos of sarcasm and humor early on, particularly in one paragraph in which he replaces all the verbs with a form of the word "fart". In its crude way, this is a pathetic appeal - specifically, using sarcasm and humor to relate to the audience.

Cross is able to use humor as a pathetic appeal mainly because he knows his audience. The open letter is written on his own comedic blog, presumably being read almost exclusively by die hard fans of his, who appreciate his sense of humor. And since the letter is addressed to Larry the Cable Guy, a fellow comedian, he clearly feels humor is an accurate debate technique in an argument between two stand-up comics.

The prosecutor.

But the argument is not supported completely by pathetic appeals. He also employs a healthy amount of entechnic support, through many quotes from previous interviews and shows done by Larry the Cable Guy. While some of the quotes may be classified as begging the question - after all, taking quotes out of context is not always the most concrete proof available to a rhetorician - the sheer amount of quotes utilized make his argument extremely effective. By using Larry the Cable Guy's own words and logic against him, Cross created a situation in which the Cable Guy would have to contradict himself in order to dispute most of the claims Cross makes.

Of course, the battle rages on, splitting the country virtually down the middle, pitting brother against brother and father against son. But David Cross's well-crafted, logical defense of his case has perhaps brought this bloody dispute nearer to its resolution. Good night, and god bless America.

The Great Unknown

It also concerns me to consider the great unknown that is the United States government. With their ability to control the media, or at least to a certain extent, they are able to lead the country to believe what they want the citizens to believe. This is what interests an exploration into the theories of government conspiracy. Some people believe that the World Trade Center towers were also rigged with explosives to help aid their collapse, and others believe that the government deliberately planned the attacks. I do not believe that the government could do things that extreme. However, there are some instances that make you wonder, for instance, the evidence behind the moon landing, or Area 51.
Personally, my imagination runs wild wondering how much involvement the CIA, or agencies we might not even know about, has in situations like these. A high percentage of people have watched movies or television shows with heroes like Jack Bauer or James Bond, which take them through the life of a secret agent fighting terrorism or other forms of evil. In Hollywood, the main character always stops the bad guy right before anything happens. What happens in real life when they fail? What happens if Al Qaeda demands billions of dollars from the United States government, but they refuse? Is the result is a violent attack on the World Trade Center? Perhaps there was a heroic figure like Jack Bauer on board the plane taken back over and crashed in Pennsylvania. Perhaps this attack was preventable, but the government failed to disclose any details. I hold no evidence of this suggestion but believe that it is not a farfetched suggestion. I pray that my statements are in no way legitimate, but to imagine this concerns me. We as Americans often do not know what is going on with our government, even if we think we do.

Stars and Stripes

If you look back, and think hard about the times before that fateful day on September 11, 2001, it seems that so many things have changed. It’s easy to find oneself saying things like, “Why I remember a time before 9/11, when a man could drive across the Mexican or American border without so much as a drivers license. Nowadays you need a passport, 3 forms of ID, and a complete family history in order to even look at either border.” Or something to the effect of, “Back in my day, airport security used to be no more than a five minute wait, and your family could greet you as soon as you got off your plane at the terminal! Nowadays,.... blah, blah, blah” Like it or not, 9/11 seems to be one of the defining moments of our time.
Now what do I mean by that, defining moment? To me it means a date when you can easily distinguish a definite change before and after an event. A time where one can remember exactly where they were, what they were doing, and who they were with at the time of the occurrence. Such a time that I’ve heard my parents and other old timers recant time and time again was when the United States became the first country to put a man on the moon. How many a time have a heard the story where my mother was sitting in her one room schoolhouse in rural Illinois, and her teacher wheeled in their own personal television from home, just so twenty some students could watch this soon to be historical event. Or how my father saw visual fear for the first time in an adults eyes, when his teacher tried to explain the goings on on the T.V. in front of them, as a Russian ship slowly cruised toward a small island in the Carribean. Later that afternoon in the stuffy, overcrowded , urban, Milwaukee school, the entire student body and faculty, practiced “duck and cover”, as the Cuban Missile Crisis unfolded.
Unfortunately, so to has 9/11 seared a spot into our minds, thoughts, memories, and diction. Heck, there's even been a handful of country songs written about the date. Why I remember I time not more than ten years ago when you could have asked me what a terrorist was and I probably would’ve scoffed at such a peculiar noun. Now it seems to hold so much power and imagery during the present day; whether it be as trivial as a turbaned, AK wielding, religious fanatic, or as imposing as an embodiment of pure evil. However the usage, its not uncommon to hear someone use such an utterance, whether it be used to describe a common street thug or even a presidential candidate.
Simply put, 9/11 has changed the way things are, and has become a defining moment of our time. It makes me ponder, as I sit and gaze at the illustrious beam of a late-night computer screen, what does the future hold? Is 9/11 the main milestone, by which I will relate the occurrences of my life? Or is there something else that is to be, whether it be as joyous as a nations victory over the heavens, or as heinous as the fiery destruction of a national symbol.

Comedy And 9/11: Not As Bad As You Think

Shortly after 9/11, I think it's safe to assume that everyone in America was ready for a good laugh. In fact, it wasn't long before jokes were being cracked on late night TV more or less like normal, although the mood was obviously somewhat subdued. After Mayor Rudolph Giuliani urged New Yorkers and Americans to go back to their lives, most comedians returned to work at a time when people were desperate for comedy to ease their minds.

One of the first comedians to return was David Letterman, whose opening monologue about 9/11 spurred other comic talk show hosts like Jon Stewart to do the same. And the amazing thing was that even after all of the speeches from politicians and survivors, some of the most touching and poignant moments came from these comedians. There was something jarring and meaningful about seeing a man who spends every day ridiculing everything and making jokes about every possible situation suddenly sit down in front of a camera and speak for ten minutes from the heart - even breaking down into tears like Jon Stewart. And then after giving such moving speeches, they would flawlessly transition back into humor. The audience would wipe their eyes, laugh, and gradually things went back to a reasonable level of normalcy.

While most comedians chose to focus the audience's attention elsewhere - Conan O'Brien had a segment involving babies lifting heavy objects on his first post-9/11 episode - others managed to actually find a way to make the situation funny. Not the actual attacks, obviously (Gilbert Gottfried was booed off of a stage after cracking the joke, "I wanted a direct flight back to LA, but apparently they have to make a stop at the Empire State Building,"), but a lot of humor was found in the sometimes absurd reactions people had to the attacks.

David Cross has almost an entire CD of standup comedy dedicated to the aftermath of 9/11, in which he skewers "Patriot Packs" that were sold in stores and consisted of different types of flag decals to "out-patriot" your neighbors. He also tells stories about what life was like in New York City at the time, including a memorable bit about the surreal feeling he experienced when he stepped outside on the empty, ash-covered streets on 9/12 and saw a man wearing a gas mask and tight Spandex, rollerblading down the middle of the street with purpose and conviction, like he was going somewhere important ("So fuck you, Mr. Osama bin Jerkhead or whatever your name is. Because if Gabriel doesn't rollerblade to the Chelsea Piers, then the terrorists have truly won").

If it weren't for comedians after 9/11, the healing process would have taken much longer. They did what the speeches of so many public officials couldn't do: they brought us back to reality. When we were all thinking that the world was falling apart and we couldn't step outside without fearing for our lives, comedians across the United States reminded us that the world hadn't gone insane - that you could still turn on the TV at 11:30 PM and see babies lifting heavy objects and other ridiculous comedy on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." And when comedians started making jokes about Osama bin Laden (which they did a lot), it reminded America that there was no need to fear this insane little man. Comedians reminded us after 9/11 that he may have destroyed our tallest buildings, but we could still call him "Osama bin Jerkhead" and there was nothing he could do about it.

And don't even get me started on the amount of post-9/11 jokes George W. Bush provided comedians with.