Reflection of Multimedia Assignment

I think that I am really going to enjoy making our multimedia project. It is going to be a way for me to pick my own topic and persuade my audience in the style which I find most fitting. This will be a great opportunity for me to finally do a project my own way without all the exceptions set by the instructor. Also, I believe I will enjoy this project because my group and I have many good ideas that we plan to use for it. Our plan is to devise a way of advertising for our product “EVO”, a men’s deodorant that not only makes you smell great but also enhances your moral and sports abilities. The idea we have is to make advertisements for our product using a comical approach. We discovered, through research, that this would be one of the most successful ways of advertising. My group will be making a variety of different advertisements from a commercial, magazine ad, billboard ad, to a radio ad. We feel as though once we have created all of these, our groups ‘product’ will have the right name recognition and impact on our consumers as intended.

Analyzing Music

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Californication
Otherside

Chorus:
How long how long will I slide
Separate my side I don’t
I don’t believe it’s bad
Slit my throat
It’s all I ever

I heard your voice through a photograph
I thought it up it brought up the past
Once you know you can never go back
I’ve got to take it on the otherside

Centuries are what it meant to me
A cemetery where I marry the sea
Stranger things could never change my mind
I’ve got to take it on the otherside
Take it on the otherside
Take it on
Take it on

Chorus

Pour my life into a paper cup
The ashtray’s full and I’m spillin’ my guts
[ Red Hot Chili Peppers Lyrics are found on www.songlyrics.com ]
She wants to know am I still a slut
I’ve got to take it on the otherside

Scarlet starlet and she’s in my bed
A candidate for my soul mate bled
Push the trigger and pull the thread
I’ve got to take it on the otherside
Take it on the otherside
Take it on
Take it on

Chorus

Turn me on take me for a hard ride
Burn me out leave me on the otherside
I yell and tell it that
It’s not my friend
I tear it down I tear it down
And then it’s born again

Chorus

How long I don’t believe it’s bad
Slit my throat
It’s all I ever

I believe this song is a great song to analyze and develop a deeper understanding of. Although there are many ways to analyze what is being said in the song, all of them can be considered somewhat valid. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are a band that started in California in the early 1980’s. They have made many successful albums and are considered one of the best alternative rock bands ever (a little prejudice coming from me).
The song “Otherside” to me is about the lead singer of the group, Anthony Keidis, who was very deep into drugs, heroine in particular. In this song, he talks about what he can do to get to the “otherside” and get over this awful addiction he has to heroine. The song has many lines in it that require a deeper understanding of the band as a whole. Before this song was written, the former guitarist of the band died to a heroin addiction. The line saying “I heard your voice through a photograph” refers to this person. Keidis is remembering his close friend and is doing this by looking at him through a photograph. Also, when he says “How long will I slide”, I believe this is talking about how long will he keep doing this terrifying habit. He also refers to “slitting his throat” which may also prove this point.
I believe that Keidis is also at a constant struggle in this song. At the beginning he says “I don’t believe its bad” but that is the half of him that can’t fight the addiction. He realizes that his life is a very delicate thing (hence “Pour my life into a paper cup”) but he can’t find a way to get over his addiction to heroin. Also, this might be a little out there, but when he says “she wants to know if I’m still a slut” I think he is talking about the drug itself. He is saying that the heroin is metaphorically asking him if he is a slave to it still. He constantly keeps giving into the drug but afterwards he knows he should stop so he doesn’t end up like his former guitarist and deer friend.
The whole song is one big appeal to ethos. It is constantly appealing to Anthony Keidis’ emotions and is in return, making the listener feel the same way. This can be successfully done because the song is fairly slow and is at a nice and easy listening speed. I think this adds to the intensity of its meaning because it helps clarify the meaning of the song and allows the listener to hear and understand what is being said easier. The song also has a little appeal to ethos as well. Keidis knows what he is doing is wrong but he can’t find a way to fix the problem.
This song is a great song in my opinion. The music itself is good and the words and meaning just add to the songs “awesomeness”. I actually really enjoyed analyzing this song because I learned things about the song that I hadn’t really picked up on before. Just remember: Don’t do drugs!

Multimedia Argument Assignment

For my multimedia assignment I plan to use a comical advertisement of some sort. I believe that people respond to things that are funnier better than any other way. Taking this into consideration, my group plans to find something comical to use as our multimedia. So far, we don't really have any specific ideas so I can't really write much on that subject. Actually, I'm not really even certain on what we really have to do. The assignment has been talked about briefly, but not enough for me to actually understand it fully. My group and I plan to use some comical multimedia device to complete this and then we will do a good job using it to successfully complete this assignment.

Research Paper Reviews

The first draft of my research paper went as I thought it would. I found and researched many great things about my topic of Black History Month and actually learned a lot in the process. The actual writing of the paper was not as easy as I first predicted. The ability to come up with things to say was not what was hard for me, but actually arranging the data in a strategic and affective way was the real challenge. Knowing when to talk about what is what gave me much of my problems. After the writing process was complete, we had to complete, we had to complete peer reviews on other research papers. I actually learned more about my paper when I editied my peers' essays more so than I learned when reading what they about mine. Although reading what was said about my paper was very helpful, I actually understood my mistakes more when I read some of them in other people's works. By doing this, I actually realize what was wrong with their paper nad looked for similar mistakes in my own paper. I believe doing these peer reviews really helped me become a better writer. If we could do these more often, I believe my writing abilities will greatly increase.

Remixing Culture pg 440

Today's society is at a constant rate of change. It's hard to avoid the future and ll that it brings. Every day, people nad their ideas are evoloving with their surroundings. The reason for much of this changes is due to the vast movements in new technology.Technology has become a huge part of our society in America, and as time goes on, only improvemnets will be made. When reading the article "Remixing Culture", it is very evident that our world is changing with the new upcoming technology. In this essay, the music industry is getting a whole new "look" to it. Old and famous songs are being taken and are being "mashedup". This is when one song is being mixed with another to form what is called a remix. This can easily be done in today's world because of all the new types of technology, and is actually being done all the time. Sports are also evolving with these new technologies. It seems like only a few years ago when the first Nintendo came out. Over the past decade, over 10 new consoles for gaming have ben made all as a result of new technology. Although evolving along with these new types of technologies is hard, numerous attempts to do so should be made. If not, you may not be able to do even the simplest things in life. At this rate, technology will run the world in the next 10 years and knowledge of these new things will be mandatory.

Violence and Video Games

Video games are a way for people to escape everyday life and do things that would not be legal or "socially acceptable" by many people. As time goes on, video games on progress more and more. Many upgrades to graphics and gameplay have been made to "better" video games as a whole. Video games are very similar to movies in the sense of how reality can be pushed to the limit and still entertain many of its viewers. Simply shooting a duck as it flies across the screen is not that exciting to people and more actual game play was needed. In today's world, people find killing people or robbing people much more fun. Although these are things many people don't do (although many still do), it allows a way for people to experience such situations safely and enjoyably. These games are so persuasive because it draws its viewers in and entertains them. In today's society, killing people in video games is fun. People enjoy it. Why? Who knows? I personally even enjoying such games, although I would never actually kill someone. Such games should not be taken away from the market because they entertain people and may actually keep many from doing such activities that the game may portray.

"WAR, LIVE" pg. 574

The arrangement of speakers is crucial when constructing an argument. In these two examples, the authors use different styles in writing to convey their arguments. The first example uses a type of writing that resembles an interview. He divides his argument into topics and then conveys his research through conversation.This is very helpful because it allows the reader to come up with their own ideas about the issue. The reader can look at the topic being discussed and read about it and come up with their own hypothesis. The other author goes with a more paragraph-like approach. He develops an essay with subcategories and explains the topic in great detail. This is also a very successful way of conveying an argument because it goes into deeper detail about the issue. This allows the reader to have a better understanding of the issue and allows them to be more learned about their own argument. Both of these authors do a good job of researching their issue. When developing an argument, the arrangement of the speakers is very important because it allows the readers to get more than just the authors point of view, and this is very important when developing an argument. When more sources are available, it is easier to develop a more broad and better understanding of the topic at hand.

Just Another Blog

Well, I really don't have anything in mind to write about. I'm really only doing a blog because the syllabus says to and I do what syllabus says. No, but really, I'm just gonna right about whatever I want here. Something that always gets me thinking is the future. It's kinda scary when I think about it. I mean, things are gonna get way worse than they already are. What if a cure for cancer and AIDS is found. That's great for the person who has that disease but not for everyone else. I mean that sounds bad but maybe God made these diseases as a population control. If a cure is found, then overpopulation is an issue. Also, what if a world like the world in the book 1984 really exists. If you have never read that book then you don't know what your missing. It's awesome. Any way, what if the government could control everybody all the way down to how they thought? The government controlled every thought and extinct you as a human had and there was nothing about it you could do. Things like that are scary. Utopias are not always as good as they may seem to be to everyone. Everybody cannot be happy so we as a race need to find a median. You have to please as many people as you can but also make everyone happy in some way (if that makes any sense at all). But if you have noticed, that is what we are trying to do. We are trying to make everyone happy by trying to make everything as "good" as we can. We think this is helpful but we are really digging our own graves. We are the reason everything on the planet is so messed up and now we are trying to fix it? We are very similar to AIDS to some extent. AIDS eats away at the cells, and in return, the cells soon die. After that, the disease spreads to another cell and repeats the cycle. We are like AIDS and the earth is like a cell. We "eat" away everything we can get our hands on until that resource is gone, then we move on to the next. I agree there are many things that need fixing but not EVERYTHING. I can't give any specific examples but there are plenty. I believe everything happens for a reason. If we could solve all the earth's problems, then whats the point of living. If that happened, then wouldn't the world be a "utopia"? I don't know? Just another blog.

Research Process

This far in my research process, much has been learned about my topic concerning black history month. Not only have I learned much about my topic, but I have learned much about the process of researching a topic for future reference. The research process has proved very successful. Books as well as the web have proved to be two really reliable sources to find data. Data on past African Americans and their accomplishments have come very evident to me and will in the long run make my paper more scholarly and just a better all around paper.

Creative Practice (pg. 113)

1. Web
• When I searched my topic on the internet, I found a bunch of helpful items to add to my research. I noticed that much the information provided was very general. Topics of all sorts dealing with “Black History Month” were provided, many useful and many non-helpful also.

2. Library Catalog
• Using the library catalog proved very difficult. It provides a wide variety of information but finding the right keyword was important. When using the library catalog, I could not find enough information to use in my essay. This could be to the fact that using the catalog has not really been mastered yet.

3. Database
• After doing my research using the other sources, I used a database called LexisNexis. It proved to be helpful to an extent but not the most reliable source. It was very similar results to those of the library catalog. In fact, I even used the library catalog to find the database I wanted.

4. Library of Congress
• When I accessed the “Library of Congress” I found the most helpful and related information. I found essays, federal documents, and interviews of important contributions to Black History Month here. Arguments were also a piece of provided information which may prove useful for future reference. My results were narrowed to the degree that I needed them to be. Unlike the web and CU library online, the library of congress had direct information which went with my simple key words: Black History Month.

Audience, Purpose, and Context Questions (pg.27-DK)

Audience

My audience might care about my topic because it is a very sensitive topic. It often is discussed into great detail about how to approach it. Many people don’t know much about this topic because it is a somewhat new issue to everyone. It has not been around that long because it has often been looked down on in the past.

Purpose

This topic fits the rubric of the assignment because it is a current and up to date topic that I believe can retrieve an abundance of information. There are many extremist on both sides of the “spectrum” that offer very convincing arguments on the subject, and I believe their ideas will come in handy in the making of my paper. This topic will expand my learning not only from the facts I learn from research, but also in my abilities of constructing and writing an applicable argument. I believe my audience will be interested when reading my paper because everyone has an opinion on the matter and some may even have stronger views than others, which makes for an excellent discussion. I believe my topic is interesting enough to entertain the audience and offers one person’s point of view which should be interesting to many people.

Context

I’m actually not so certain about the length of my paper with the topic I have chosen. I believe if I state both sides of the argument (as well as mine) and even provide background information for my audience, my paper should meet the required standards. My issue is very complex and may even provide tension for my readers, which is kind of the point of my topic. I want to go in to detail about how I feel about the topic and I really want a discussion to be created over it. That’s why I believe my topic will be so successful. In today’s America, this is a very debatable subject, which may cause many people to be upset or mad. These types of emotions really add to the fact of why I believe this topic is the right one for me.

At A Glance pg. 91

1. Sports are an event or topic that I absolutely love. I can watch, listen, or talk about sports all day. It’s a topic that never gets old because something new always happens every day, whether it’s a good game or a fight between two teams. I always make sure I watch sports center every night so I won’t lose touch of the pastime I love.

2. I encounter a variety of things in my everyday life here on campus. I often see people using laptops in class as well as all other types of technology. I also see a lot of posters throughout campus also describing signs of alcohol poisoning and all other types of consequences that can come from drinking.

3. Something that would make me leave a conversation with a friend to go talk to someone else would be something like if someone was talking bad about me or a sports team I like. I know that’s a little sad but it’s the truth. Those two things really anger me. I feel like that team is a part of me and if you talk badly about me, I’ll probably snap and go off on someone.

4. A major topic presently in our nation right now is the destruction caused by hurricane Ike. Many people are still feeling the effects of it and the destruction it left in its passing. People are still out of homes and many have lost everything they owned. This will be a huge topic for a while and for months to come.

Thesis Excercise pg. 22

1. The ad’s focus is on the coffin and the cigarettes. By having the cigarettes inside the coffin, the reader can easily understand the message the author is trying to convey: the dangers of smoking. Also, the way the ad is situated and laid out, it resembles a smoking advertisement. The surgeon general’s warning at the bottom also adds to the effect of the picture. It attracts the eyes of smokers, much like normal cigarette ads do.

2. The picture shows the unhealthiness and fatal consequences that cigarettes can cause.

3. The picture shows how cigarettes are a bad habit and dangerous, despite their economic benefits.

4. This advertisement focuses on the dangers of smoking, despite its economic benefits, by wittily resembling a cigarette ad with its strategic placement of key items.

5. In this ad, the author conveys the point that smoking is bad, despite its economic benefits, through strategic placement and clever design throughout the advertisement.

6. The author conveys his point that cigarettes are beneficial to our economy, despite the negative effects, but the negatives outweigh the positive greatly.

At A Glance pg. 21

· http://www.notobacco.org/photos/large/photo46.jpg

1. The image does a very good job of persuading the audience. It uses pathos and logos to persuade the audience and does so very successfully. It uses death as a consequence to smokers and does so in a humorous and witty way.

2. The ad does not contain many elements to analyze but the few it has are more than enough to convey the author’s outlook on smoking.

3. The intended audience is smokers. The picture is aimed to make smokers second guess their view on smoking.

4. This image expresses the idea that smoking is not only unhealthy but can be fatal to a person’s life. The elements in the picture do a very nice job of displaying the author’s view on this deadly habit and does so very successfully.

Ads for Collaborative Challenge pg34

· http://adsoftheworld.com/files/images/Smokering.preview.jpg

· www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/346680/