Blogging for ENG121

Blogging is a good way to have small writing assignments mixed in with the larger essays. On the other hand it can be difficult to remember to write blogs each week if it is an unfamiliar activity or if you simply don't want to write. This kind of writing can also be fun though because writing about whatever comes to mind is a productive way to spend time. Being required to write makes for a lot of stuff that is written purely to meet the set requirement. This entry is a good example of this because I have been doing so much writing this semester that I don't even want to finish the writing that I have left to do. Being who I am, I will still shoulder my way through it all but that doesn't make me any less sick of it.

The influences of Technology

I use technology every day but then everybody does. I often don't think about how much technology changes over even short periods such as portable cd players being replaced by mp3 players. I listen to music everyday but it is uncommon for me to think about times when people could only hear music by being at a performance. I appreciate the technology that I have at my disposal partly because my mom reminds me how impressive it is. She only knows enough about how to use computers to turn them off when my younger siblings forget to, but she also knows how useful they are. The rate that computers progress is astonishing whenever I care to think about it and whenever I do I realize that is not always good. I say it is not good because when I was the same age as my younger brother (7 years old) one of my favorite forms of entertainment was a book: games on the computer, though good, were not as interesting; I might have read fewer books if I had games like Star Wars Racer at that age like he does. Technology is nice but it is important to be able to get along without it. TV is one form of technology that holds almost no sway over me though it is readily available because there are very few TV shows that interest me and there are over 700 movies in my house that I can watch that don't have commercials. VCR/DVD players are great because they allow for the sharing of thousands of films that take less time than reading the same story (though the book is almost inevitably better than the movie).

Quantum of Solace

This weekend I went to see Quantum of Solace, the newest James Bond movie at the Bowles Crossing theater with my older brother and a family friend. The movie was slightly better than my low expectations had predicted but it could have been improved by simply having the camera shots for a few of the scenes backed out to show more of the surroundings. The theater contributed a touch of its own by having the volume turned up to the point where it became the loudest movie I have ever watched. That is impressive considering that the Death Star explosion in Star Wars: A New Hope on The Continental theater bigscreen could be felt through the concrete floor and padded seats. It was so loud in some parts that the high quality commercial speakers in the theater began to overload. The conversation on the way back to my house was filled with musings as to how even the deaf could hear it if it was any louder and shouts of "WHAT?" as if they were nearly deaf, after anyone said something directly to someone else.

James Bond movies

In my opinion the James Bond movies after The World is not Enough don't really classify as James Bond movies. Sure the main actor is called Agent 007: James Bond but that doesn't mean that he meets the standards of that character. Take Die Another Day for example: 007 is held captive and tortured, presumably for a month at least, in the first part of the movie. Not only has that never happened before but Bond escapes because he is practically released. Casino Royal is even less Bond like for many reasons. The main thing that stands out as a major flaw to me is how physics was ignored during the section where 007 crashes which doesn't make sense for his character.

From Die Another Day on the Bond movies aren't as good as the old ones. The new ones don't have the expected charm or cartoon characteristics that make the others so good. The point of 007 is that he is a spy instead of some random American action hero that seems to be what the new ones are shooting for.

James Bond: classic British spy or semi-realistic action hero: you decide! Do you like the suave British super agent or do you prefer watching a hero that wanders around acting stupid on occasion to advance the plot of a movie that defies realistic conventions at every turn? If you like the romantic British agent then the first nineteen 007 films are the ones to watch for! If you prefer the random hero and optional realism you should keep an eye out for Die Another Day, Casino Royale, and the all new Qantum of Solace.

Cat's Cradle

Cat's cradle is a way of passing time that I picked up again recently after years of having forgotten about it. Cat's cradle is one name for games played with a loop of string and was popular a long time ago. I got back into it one night when my younger siblings were looking for something to do and my younger brother did the one cat's cradle trick he knew with a loop of yarn: he cut my hand off. I then realized that I had not played with my cat's cradle strings for a really long time so I went to my room and brought one back down to the kitchen with me. The only trick I remembered was my favorite one, which was an instant hit with my younger siblings partly because I acted silly at the appropriate moments. The trick of cutting my own head of with a piece of string met with roars of laughter as I pretended to choke then with one final jerk pulled the string off, freezing cross-eyed with my tongue out, gargling my last and starting to fall over. The immediate encore was to cut my younger brother's head off, followed by performing my younger sister's demand that I cut her head off. My mom and I were laughing because how many mothers get to hear their 5 year old daughter commanding their 19 year old brother to cut off their head and respond by saying that only he is allowed to do that and she should finish her supper before he does it again. Of course after that I taught them both how to cut their own heads off and let my younger brother try to cut mine off a couple times. After he succeeded a couple times my mom told me where I could find her book of string games so I could start refreshing my memory of patterns that I hadn't done for years. My younger brother picked up the trick for cutting his fingers off right away and I think my sister now knows it as well. When I played with my string at college during the next two days I found that at least 4 people recognized it as a game they used to know and enjoy but had forgotten about. Maybe they will relearn some of these games too since they all seemed happy to see the string patterns and be reminded of the times when they used to play them too.

Ideas for my essay argument

I like the idea of arguing that the old James Bond films up to Goldeneye are better than any of the ones after that. I could argue about motorcycles being better than cars in most situations I could also argue against most immunizations and drugs. There is also plenty of material for making arguments on any major issue that can be conceived but I don't want to go into those. If I want to do an obscure one I could argue for changing all computer keyboards to the Devorak keysetting from the qwerty keyboard that is the current standard. If I wanted to do something related to what I am often told by friends/parental hinting I could go into the advantages and disadvantages of having a girlfriend. Perhaps I will do something along the lines of a completely random topic or decide by pulling one from a hat. There is also the decision of how silly or serious I want to make it because a silly argument about why purple is the coolest color would be very different from a logical argument against war. I could also come up with a few arguments related to games; for example, cat's cradle could be a really fun one to write an essay on.

Halloween

I went to a party on Halloween with some of my friends from high school. To be honest it wasn't very interesting. We spent lots of time using a computer to play random things such as typing band names and "Naruto" into the search bar of youtube with the goal of not finding any entries that involve both. Aside from that, random conversations were how most of the time was passed until a couple of us watched "A Nightmare Before Christmas". I went home after that because there was nothing else interesting for me to do, a few others had already left, it was midnight, and I had no inclination attempt talking to the ones smoking or drinking or both.

One of my favorite songs

There are so many songs I like that naming one as my favorite above all others is impossible; however I can say that "Tears From the Moon" by Conjure One is a definite contender. It starts out with a smooth, mystic, eastern feel and violins joining in. This feel intensifies as soon as drums start in place of the violins shortly before the voice of the girl joins and begins to twist and slide with the music as she tells her story. The first words are "Couldn't sleep, so I went out walking [pause] thinking about you and hearing us talking [pause] and all the things I should have said [pause] echo now inside my head [pause] I feel something falling from the sky, I'm so sad I made the angels cry, tears from the moon [pause] fall down like rain, I reach for you [pause] I reach in vain..." guitars and the violins provide emphasis that mingles with her voice or the pauses between words. This song is a great blend of tempo, lyrics, voice, instruments (synthesized and real), and variation that is wonderful to listen to. As beautiful as it is the list of songs that I like just as much as it would take more than two hours to listen to not counting repeated plays of the ones that seem too short ("Ebudae" by Enya for example).

Audio essay

I like the essay "From Hip-Hop Comes Hope" http://www.thisibelieve.org/dsp_ShowEssay.php?uid=31467. My favorite part was when the author quotes the lyrics of the particular song that changed how she viewed hip-hop as a genre. I like the message that music helps people get through tough times because I think that it can really help. I can also empathize with the author when she says "Working with the beats helps me move faster..." because I find that music has helpful effects depending on what I am listening to and why. Sometimes it is the lyrics that are most important and at others it is the background, pace, or combination of elements that creates the desired effect. In short I would say that this is my favorite of the audio essays we listened to and the ones I looked at because it it the one that is easiest for me to identify with in most respects.

Saturday

This Saturday I went with my older brother and my dad to an OHV area not far from Grand Lake. We got on the road at about 10:15 am with two DRZ400s and a KLR650 loaded into the back of my brother's truck. When we arrived at the staging area for the ATV trails we were going to ride on we found that one of the DRZs had got an oil leak sometime after we had loaded it into the truck, but thankfully we were able to repair it well enough for the DRZ to be used. We started out on the trail at about 1 pm. My brother was on his KLR; my dad and I were on the much lighter DRZs which was good, because we had much less off road experience. Along the first trail I dropped the DRZ I was riding several times which isn't too surprising considering that I have, by far, the least experience out of the three of us. A short way along the second trail I pointed out that the DRZ I was on was starting to overheat. When we took a closer look we found that the oil leak had started to ooze again; Most likely because of the time I dropped it after jumping (mostly unintentionally) off a natural ramp and subsequently: the trail. Deciding that between the hour of challenging riding, the overheating engine, the scrape on my left knee, and the bruises on the upper half of my right leg I should head back to the truck on the forest road and wait for my brother and my dad to finish the second trail without me. Once they got back and we had started heading home around 6:30 they told me about some of what they rode along after I had left. Judging by what they described, I would say that I made the right decision when I turned back. They described one point in particular where falling would have been really bad in a way that I doubt I could have avoided falling. Speaking of falling over, neither one of them fell over on the first trail (I fell 6 or 7 times by comparison), but they each dropped their motorcycle twice on the second trail. Despite the difficulty/injuries I had fun, did alright overall, and would like to ride some more trails.

Side notes: DRZ400s are extremely fun to ride; my older brother rides single track trails almost every weekend; my dad has been riding motorcycles for approximately 40 years; this was my third (and most challenging) experience with trail riding on a motorcycle, second time riding a DRZ400, and first time off-roading on a vehicle with specifications like those of the DRZ400.

My belief in friendship

I believe that friendship is one of the most important things in life. Not just having friends but really caring about them and everyone else in a general sense. The world would be a better place if everyone could be "friendly" to one another. I know that it would work from my own experiences. I listen to everyone who talks to me and offer assistance to anyone who wants it no matter how much doing so might disrupt my own life. This goes for people that I have never met before and people that I have known for years. Admittedly I would do more for the people I have known for longer but that is mostly because I have a better idea of what would help them. I have held this belief for years and to this day can honestly say that I don't know anyone who openly dislikes me or wouldn't ask me for help if they thought I could do so. Likewise there is nobody that I have met that I cannot get along with. Perhaps my quiet, easygoing, and slightly manic nature affect this but I believe it is my philosophy of friendship that is the biggest factor.

My mp3 player

My mp3 player could potentially drive someone insane if they don't like songs with words they can't understand or dislike certain genres of music. It only has a gigabyte of memory so there are only 243 songs on it but that would be enough once you take in the details. To start with I have the menu language set to German, which I took for four years in high school. Once that obstacle is navigated you get to the music itself. The songs can be classified into every genre I have ever heard of plus subcategories of them. Once that is understood let the fact that there are 16 different languages represented sink in. On top of that there are several songs that involve two languages and there is at least one that involves three. This is where the fun begins, making jumps from genre to genre and language to language through mind wrenching progressions of logic. Surely a love song about wanting to get back together should be followed by a song about things going to get better followed in turn by songs where things are working out and a dance to celebrate. The wrench jumps from hiding as the English hip-hop/rap goes to bi-lingual Greek/English STRANA and from there to Spanish/English dance music from Venezuela that was popular in the US around 1998-99 and back in time from there to a disco style song from 1985. After recovering from that take some Bon Jovie rock followed successively by Greek dance, American Pop love sung in German, American country with a shakespearian twist, back to German rock, German rap, French blues, ending with 1990's American R&B. If sanity remains after that I can use one of the features of my mp3 player to concoct other devastating mixes on the spot in a temporary playlist. If I wanted to try and had advance notice I could even add songs from several more languages and songs that are polar opposites to my mp3 player.

Eulogy for the past

The place is an old sky blue van with a white stripe along the side. It looks like the volkswagen vans that were popular in the sixties. It sits in the gravel off the north-east corner of my house beside the big brown ford truck from the same era in the driveway. The van is locked, only my dad has the key, stashed and hidden away in some unknown location. There is still a way to unlock it through the sunroof; a feat that only I can perform. The van has two front seats, the rest is windowless and empty: a cozy secretive den. A place that is not spectacular in any obvious way to an outside observer but is magical to the ones who know its secrets. One is my brother, four years my elder. Another is the girl in my class who lives just around the corner. Finally there is me, the one who can open this special place. What makes it special is that troubles and quarrels are have no power there.
Playing a game with my older brother, it is a place where we can rest happily without fighting the way young brothers tend to do. Where we can talk, invent and pretend whatever we want. It is like the van contains any world that you can dream of without needing to follow the rules of the one outside. We can go on lengthy road trips, driving anywhere at all at any speed, even though we don't physically leave home. The magic of the van makes everything fun, as if joy is the only emotion allowed and arguments or put-downs are strictly forbidden by an unseen force.
With the girl down the street it is different and simultaneously, it is the same. It is the same because all that matters is experiencing joy, friendship, and adventure. In the van we can easily talk for hours about everything, from school to personal problems knowing that the van won't share our secrets with anyone else. Secret problems that are meaningless in the confines of the van but shape everything that happens to us. When we don't want to talk about that outside world any more we create our own and adventure through them, playing together as perfect friends that don't care whether the other is a boy or a girl.
The van can only provide respite until it is time to go home, to play in the sun, eat, or go on to other things. The girl is long gone: she only lived down the street for a year before her parents moved again, vanishing with her in tow. The van disappeared later, sold at some point that I no longer remember. The truck that sat beside it is more recently departed and unlike the others I have seen it a couple times since it left. Most of all: I miss the time spent with those people, in that van.

Computer Games

I have been playing computer games to relax and have fun for the last couple days. While I was doing this it occurred to me that all of my favorite games (and in fact nearly all my games) are five or more years old. My computer may not be top of the line but it is still capable of running newer games that don't have totally insane requirements without any problems. After I thought about it for a while I realized that practically every new PC game is a remake of something and almost all of them fall into the categories of First Person Shooter (FPS); Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), or Real Time Strategy (RTS). I have nothing against these genres of games but I would like to see new games that follow the style of games like Descent 1-3, Freespace, Freespace 2; Trackmania Sunrise, Nations; Rollcage; Star Wars Racer; or even Need for Speed: SE and Need for Speed 3 from when the NFS games were about racing to have fun and had nothing to do with car customization. Going even further back to games like Jet Fighter 2; Starfighter; Zone Raiders; Space Quest 1-6; Kings Quest 1-5; and Quest for Glory 1 would be great.

On the other hand my opinions of all the games that have come out in recent years mean that I am not tempted to spend huge amounts of money on new games which makes saving money for other things far easier.

McMansion summary

The central point in the essay "The McMansion Next Door: Why the American House Needs a Makeover" is essentiallly that American houses have become similar in design and have kept getting larger and larger. One example that gets used is that custom built houses are still built for people who are well off but that when children are asked to draw a house it is almost inevitable that they will draw a box with a triangle on top. This representation of a house remindes people of "home" but the currently marketed houses are gennerally to big for everything in their near context. Later the author states this is getting to be so evident that poeple who care about design are remodeling old houses instead of buying new ones. The author also points out that young people who love cool design are not going to buy huge mass culture houses as their first house. The author then concludes by saying that our houses should reflect who we are and that if that happens our grandchildren may draw something new when asked to draw a house.

My opinion of time.

I think time is strange and inconsistent. Occasionally it stretches in agonizing slowness, with seconds feeling like minutes, and minutes turning to hours. Other times it vanishes, with hours becoming heartbeats in a steady rhythm. Whole days frequently seem misplaced as if they forgot where in the week they belong. Even weeks and months are subject to the ebb and flow of time speed distortion, seeming slow at first, then racing by unexpectedly, only to slow down again.
I think the strangest behavior of time is either: when it goes whirling by at a snail's pace, or: when it freezes so solid that movement feels similar to pushing through deep water. These sensations are almost opposite because when time flashes by extremely slowly it is that time is going by fast but it seems to take forever to do so. This experience is similar to the sensation of being in the state of half consciousness between asleep and awake. It is strange to me because it seems like time is passing at almost, but not quite, the exact wrong speed for whatever is happening.
Time freezing is an altogether different sensation that is a far more exhilarating experience. When it happens there is the innate knowledge that everything that happens is taking place in a matter of seconds even if it seems like minutes are going by in the time it takes to go a single step. Part of the exhilaration of time freezing is the perspective that almost always accompanies it, at least in my experience. The best way I can describe it is to say: it is like controlling a puppet through telekinetic means while being telepathically linked to every sensation experienced by that puppet in an arbitrary fashion similar to watching someone from a safe balcony, at the same time knowing that the puppet being watched and controlled is your own body. What is even weirder is that knowing it is my own body doesn't have any effect on its importance. As long as time is frozen my body is just a puppet that can blast like lightning through the liquid air so fast that nothing else seems to move unless it has been accelerated to a similar speed of temporal distortion. At times this experience can be so subtle (like a dream) or so short (like an instant long blackout) that it doesn't even register consciously but, when thought about, is the only explanation of how the speed of non-reflexive, or even semi-reflexive actions taken during that time could be possible.

A place...

Green grass lightly covered in slender silver-gold leaves under the beautiful blue sky holding snowy, white clouds. Trees are sitting on a hill dappled with newly fallen, bright yellow leaves. Evergreens huddled together as the green and gold leaves of the others throw playful shadows as the wind whispers through rosy stones as I sit in the sunlight shining against them.

If I had to give an acceptance speech...

I accept this nomination for the position of president, dictator, supreme overlord or whatever the position I have been nominated for is called in this dimension because this is clearly not the one I came from. As I never considered trying to get into a position of political power, I am flattered that so many of you would consider me worthy of the position. Since I have been nominated to become your leader I suppose my policy will be to try and improve things through whatever method is most widely accepted here: regardless of whether it involves improving technology, returning to a more primitive state, learning to ascend to a higher state of being, simply assimilating all species into the collective, etc. You get the picture, resistance is futile. I can't guarantee that I will be able to make any improvements especially since I am new to this reality but I am willing to take suggestions about what can be done.
My first act if I am elected for whatever this position is, will be to start, and participate in; the largest game of Calvinball in all history. I thank Bill Watterson for the concept of this sport and look forward to introducing it into the realm of major league sports. I also hope to organize all politicians into soccer teams that will begin all political functions and foreign negotiations by challenging the other political party to a soccer game, unless of course the way things are done in this dimension involves some sort of major battle/mass assimilation first in which case, the soccer game will be a closing formality among the winners. Also if battle/assimilation is the considered the norm opponents who wish to surrender and be spared must first defeat our nation's best Calvinball team to gain consideration, in the event of their loss they will be obliterated. If you still feel like electing me into this position of leadership or think that having me as your leader would be fun then please vote for me or whatever you do to make someone your leader here. However, if you later regret your decision I will abdicate and deny responsiblity on the grounds that you are the ones who gave me power.

My speech probably wouldn't get me elected, but I would certainly have fun giving it.

P.S. If you dont know what Calvinball is or how to play it: start reading Calvin and Hobbes comic books by Bill Watterson. Chances are you'll figure it out eventually.

Tatoos and peircings

I don't have any tattoos or piercings but I have thought about them. I think that a significant portion of why I haven't gotten one is because I want to be certain that it would be something I would be happy with. I will most likely get one eventually once I have decided what, where and why I want the specific tattoo or piercing. For example: say I got a tattoo of a hawk on my shoulder, I wouldn't want to wake up the next day wishing I had gotten a dragon tattoo on my back instead. The same sort of restraint applies to piercings: do I want to get one ear pierced (possibly multiple times as I like the earrings in "Deep Space 9" that the Bajorans wear), or do I want to go with a friend's suggestion that I get my eyebrow pierced. There is also the thought that I might not one at all or would be happier without one.
If I did get a tattoo or a piercing I certainly wouldn't attach existential meaning to it, that is not to say that it would have no meaning. I would get a piercing for aesthetic purposes or possibly just to try it but I would want a tattoo to have at least some significance. Going off of the ones I mention in my earlier example (a hawk or a dragon): I would want a Merlin Hawk because that is the species of bird I am named after (for those of you who have read "The Lost Years of Merlin" by T.A. Baron, Trouble is one of my favorite characters). I would want a dragon because it is my favorite kind of mythological creature (the book reference to this one comes out of "The Dragonback Adventures" series by Timothy Zahn, specifically book #2, "Dragon and Soldier"). Those are just examples because the possiblities are seemingly infinite so I want to be sure that I won't regret any that I choose to get.

My weekend

For me the weekend starts on Friday because I don't have any classes on that day. This Friday I went to the Botanic Gardens as an adult chaperon to a group of second graders that included my younger brother. This in itself wouldn't feel strange except that my younger brother's 2nd grade teacher is the one I had for 3rd grade 11 years ago. Once we got back from the field trip I did a few errands on my way home including refueling my motorcycle.
As it turns out that was a good idea because when I got home my dad told me what a large portion of Saturday would be spent doing: riding my motorcycle to the BMW club breakfast with him (he is a member of the club), going from there to Golden so I could try on motorcycle boots (we bought them), and finally riding along the lariat loop and down through bear creek canyon to get home. This was a fun 53 mile trip ending around lunch-time so I had all afternoon to work on my homework. By Saturday evening I had finished with enough that I could watch a movie while doing some of the reading homework. It was about 9:30pm when I realized that I had five library books that needed to be either renewed or returned to avoid being late. Two of the five were on hold so they couldn't be renewed so I got to try out one of the pairs of boots that I had gotten earlier while taking those two books to the night drop-off slot at the library.
Sunday morning was dark and I was tired, so I finally got to sleep in by my standards (this means I got up at about 10am). Once I was up I finished a bit more of my homework then spent two hours relaxing and briefly visiting some of my relatives that are in Denver on a trip from their home in Alaska. After getting back home, it was time for more homework on this busy weekend.

Guys in the media

I think that boys undergo some of the same media bombardment that girls do about their appearance. The media portrayal of males from my perspective as one of them is that they are supposed to wear baggy/plain designer clothes, have well defined muscles and be tall. Some of these things we have control over but others are even more impossible to achieve than what is directed toward girls. Perhaps the most stereotypical representation of guys in American media is football players. The average guy is encouraged to watch and play sports; so by giving plenty of media attention to men who could be described as 6' 1"-6' 3" 250-350lb. juggernauts, the average guy is encouraged to try to become one.
I am lucky in that I am naturally physically fit and what I like to do keeps me that way but I cannot change how tall I am. Height is a subtle factor in media portrayals of men and it may be coincidence but I doubt that. If you look at actors in particular there are not many who are less than six feet tall and they are rarely shorter than the actresses in the same movie. This, as you might imagine, can create a huge pressure against the acceptance of guys who are only, say; five foot six simply because they are six inches shorter than the "average" media portrayal. Take Kevin Kline for example: he is an actor who commonly plays an average man, but he is actually six feet two inches tall. Even actors who are overweight or wear glasses fit into this height regimen plus they are almost always in comic or scapegoat roles. Example: you would never see a man who is overweight or wears glasses in the role of the suave secret service agent 007, or even as the hacker out of the middle of nowhere who saves the day.
The pressure to meet these modeled standards might not be as much as a girl would have to face when it comes to beauty as shown by the media but they still have an influence on everyday life. I would argue that the standards set by media even affect what the other gender considers attractive and can override what people say directly to someone regarding looks. This seems to be true for girls more often than it is for guys; that is, if my own experience is anything to go by. This may be because of greater pressure or just differences in psychology. Either way it would seem that cheerleaders in skimpy clothing and linebackers shaped like tall, lean, muscular bricks are what everyone should strive to be... or so the media tells us.

McCain's Speech

To start with I would like to say that Barack Obama is a far better speaker than John McCain as evidenced by how much smoother his transitions between subjects were. McCain began his speech by thanking all the people that have helped him become nominated for the presidency. He then interjects a paragraph stating that he will win the election before he introduces the vice president candidate he is running with. He makes that introduction in a way that doesn't make sense; he states that Sarah Palin is governor of Alaska (a political position) and that he looks forward to introducing her to Washington (place governors must interact with politically). He immediately shifts to talking about how they will keep their promises and change Washington before jumping to being called a maverick and what he claims to have done to fight corruption. After he talks about Iraq he gives thanks to one general and his men for rescuing us from a demoralizing defeat, which I find odd considering that sending more troops was simply meant to end the war faster, not save us from defeat. Following that he talks about how he has been in fights and will fight for three families specifically chosen for their difficulties that supposedly represent average Americans.
Nearing the halfway point in his speech he stated "...both parties and Senator Obama passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies." Wouldn't McCain and Obama both fall into the "both parties" category? Shortly after that he starts to directly contradict what Obama said in his own speech about his policies and what they would do. McCain goes from that to how he wants to use and change the school systems, followed by an abrupt change of subject into how we will stop sending 700 billion dollars to "...countries that don't like us very much." and will encourage alternative energy. McCain makes another jump from this paragraph long mention of clean energy produced in America to what sounds like a six paragraph bid to make America into the self controlled police/peacekeeping force of planet Earth: one that will determine what is or is not acceptable for other countries to do. McCain's next few paragraphs re-state how he plans to change things as well as attacking Obama by saying "I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not." What makes this clear dig at Obama even worse is that from one paragraph afterwards until the end of his speech he talks about nothing except fighting and his own war record. It is interesting to note his statement, "If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you're disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them. Enlist in our Armed Forces. Become a teacher...", when you combine this with his statements about war being horrible, and ensuring the peace, the positioning of, "Enlist in our Armed Forces.", right at the top of the list of ways to make the country better is suspect. I think it becomes even more suspect when combined with all of his references to war and seeming desire to have America become the Earth's police force.
This analysis of McCain's speech may not seem as objective as I had hoped to make it, but that may be due in part to how confusing this speech of things that don't quite add up right was to me; personally. I also think that McCain's war record is worth looking up because it is significantly less flattering than he makes it out to be.

I think that the site below provides a clear: These are the facts, point of view about McCain's war record but I leave it to you to decide for yourself.

http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/mccain_post_card_word%5B1%5D.pdf

Obama's speech

The purpose I saw in Barack Obama's speech during the Democratic National Convention was that he was trying to generate support for the democratic party while simultaneously discrediting the republican party. This purpose makes sense because he is trying to become the next presedent. The opening of his speech persents this from an interesting point of veiw: he speaks as if he has already won the election. After the opening he presents facts about what has been going on in our nation, and speaks about what the republicans have been doing; specifically he speaks about what his competitor (senator McCain) has done. He uses that to lead into how the philosophies of the republicans and democrats differ. After that uses the actions of a previous democratic president, and stories of the people who raised him to strengthen his position. Later in his speech he tells us some of his plans and reminds us about what republicans have done concerning these same issues. He then tells us what he has been trying to do to affect the war in Iraq while he points out what McCain has been doing during this same time frame. After that, Obama brings up previous democratic presidents who have served in war to adress issues that the republican party has been trying to use to undermine his viewpoints; he then goes on to state what his military policies are. Nearing the end of his speech he briefly touches on some of the most controversial issues in America right now; before stating that the rupublicans are out of ideas, so they are trying to win the election by making him seem like a greater evil than they could turn out to be. The end of his speech goes into changes that have occured recently and draws on the "I have a dream" speech to give us an example of how unity can make unbelievable changes possible. I find it interesting that he never states the name or color of Martin Luther King, reffering to him only as a preacher from Georgia that spoke of his dream.
I believe that the effect of his speech held true to his purpose but could, potentially, have been improved by spreading out his refferals to the "I have a dream" speech throughout his speech instead of trying to cram as much of it as possible into the very end of it. One reason why he may have put it at the end is so that it wouldn't overshadow his own speech, and so his speech wouldn't override the messages that thinking about the "I have a dream" speech brings up. With the way his speech was organized I would say that the audiences he was trying to affect were undecided voters, veterans, family oriented people, and environmentalists. He may have also been trying to have an effect toward generating uncertainty in people who might otherwise vote for McCain. Obama was doing this by attacking McCain's actions while making it clear that he respects the person that is his opponent. The effect of this speech was enhanced by the fact that Barack Obama is a good speaker, as such this will be a difficult speech for John McCain to match.

Educational text

I would say that educational texts are any material that you can learn from. This could even include texts that are completely fictional in nature so long as they provide information that you can make use of. Texts that I would not consider educational practically don't exist because if you pay attention, and cover as many viewpoints as possible, you can learn from anything. Admittedly educational text can be directed toward certain audiences or age groups, however that does not make them any less valuable. The lesson contained in a text does not have to be big or even directly reffered to in the text so long as it is there for people to find.