Cultural Opportunity #3 (Yule Walk)

The friday after Thanksgiving, one of my guy friends decided to take me on the Yule Walk in downtown Peoria. Not really knowing what I was getting into, I went along with it. The Yule Walk is an annual Christmas celebration thrown by several different businesses in the downtown area such as the Caterpillar building and the local banks. Mostly it consisted of different kinds of art showcases all over that part of the city. There were choirs singing in almost every building possible. One bank had featured a guitarist who played Christmas music, and another had Richwoods madrigal singers, where I got to see one of my friends singing. They were all lined up on a staircase in their extravagant medieval clothes and sounded incredible. Up by the courthouse (?) there was an ice sculpture exhibit. There were presents, reindeer, candy canes (which were arranged as such that I had mistaken them for a sculpture of an elephant...), and this massive throne that seemed worthy of St. Nick himself. My friend that I went with dared me to go sit up on it, so I did, and had to walk around the whole downtown area with a wet bottom. He still has the blackmail pictures.

Cultural Opportunity #2 (New Moon Premiere)

EDWARD CULLEN!!!! Those two words, normally don't stand out. At the 2nd installment of the Twilight series, New Moon, premiere, that name could start a stampede. The Twilight saga has created a spitting frenzy of obsessive fans from their early teens to forties. It's city vs. city, best friend vs. best friend, sister vs. sister. It's Team Edward vs. Team Jacob. No, this isn't a WWE smackdown; this is hardcore twilight action, all in front of roughly a 2000-person audience (according to the Journal Star) all decked-out in supporting team gear. It was absolutely insane. There were people EVERYWHERE. I (Team JACOB-FIND-SOMEONE-ELSE/Team Jasper-because Jasper's that shmexy) went with my friend(Team Jacob/Team JFSE/Team Find-A-Better-Edward) and her sister(Team Edward/Team Whoever's-Shirtless-At-The-Moment =] ) and have been seriously anticipating the release since Twilight came out. (The first movie was a total fail. With a new director, I had to hope it got better.) Anyway, we sat two rows from the front for the ultimate up-close, I-can-probably-look-up-Edward's-nose-if-I-tried viewing experience. The movie actually holds a semi-standing chance with the other movies that are out right now. New Moon almost joins the ranks of a decently produced movie. (The wolves were kind of out-there, but otherwise the acting somewhat got better with the exception of Robert Pattinson sounding like he doesn't know English and the fact that Kristen Stewart was simply not born to act. Sorry if this offends anybody, but honestly, Summit could do better. )

AstraZeneca Finances

Finances:
David Brennan, Chief Executive Officer, said: “AstraZeneca has delivered a robust performance in an increasingly challenging market environment.” As of December 2nd, the stock prices are up +1.6% since September 7th at $45.93.

AstraZeneca Stock

ad analysis writer's statement draft (conference draft)

Writer’s Statement
The Ad Analysis. Oh my. Amazingly, the best part of writing this was probably getting to have the wonderful smell of the cologne on my computer desk for the entirety of the project. Otherwise, I think my initial concern was keeping on topic as I wasn’t completely positive that I wanted to do this ad. None that I pulled out seemed to grab me in any strong direction. Well, maybe it was a strong direction, but every ad that I grabbed seemed to have the same concept: gender roles.

So Long, Farewell

Now comes my final blog for the semester! After a long semester of blogging, it's pretty sad to see it come to an end. I've really enjoyed being able to talk about current events and reflect on my writing as a whole at the same time. I always had fun trying to make my posts as interesting as possible, and didn't ever really need the censorship rules on my work. I don't use any of those words normally, so it didn't really apply. It was rather interesting seeing everyone else's perspectives on what we brought up like Dominic (? sorry if it was someone else!) and abortion. Having really backed-up opinions totally helped me learn about the subjects. Good job everybody!=] And have a great break!

To like "be" or like not to be?

After working on the be-verb exercise, I've noticed it coming up in my writing much, much more than necessary. It's like pointing out how many times a person says the word, "like" when they're talking. (Hah, I already failed.) It's so, like, frustrating. I mean, like, you like start to like focus on like everything you say, and then like every other word like is engulfed by that word, like y'know? It's like, borderline reverse psychology in like a loosely-related way. Since it's like, already in your head, it like wants to jump out at like every opportunity like you could imagine. Just like being like reminded of it like encourages the like bad habit. I was like, having like major issues like trying to like fix all the like super annoying be-verbs that like kept popping out of my paper like it was like going out of style. That exercise like helped me like a ton to like further edit like my writing. Like can't you like tell?





Disclaimer: I'll try and post a translated version soon, so it's actually readable!
Wow. I'm not going to be able to talk right for weeks now. =]

Man down.

This morning on the radio, a rather interesting debate carried on. The announcer, who had seen the new Fox show "Glee", had found out that the actor who plays the boy in the wheelchair doesn't really use a wheelchair. She, unsure of her standing on the situation, wondered why there wasn't a real handicapped actor playing the part if the role was created. The caller who met the line simply argued that the director probably considered this and picked the best candidate. The other announcer shrugged off the lady announcer's confusion, thinking that it wasn't a very pressing issue and was seemingly a moot point. I'm not exactly sure where I stand myself, but the lady announcer threw out a very thought-provoking idea. Look at it: there's a broadway-singing role featuring a person in a wheelchair! How great of an opportunity is that for someone in a chair who has a role just for them! They can sing and dance without hurting themselves or being excluded. I mean, there are liability issues for Fox if they were to hire someone in a chair in case they got hurt, and the actor who has the role does a great job at playing the role, but I want to know if they considered the handicapped community. Or why they even went that way rather than just make the character a nerd. He's still a victim for wedgies and being pushed in a porta-potty (Disclaimer: this was from the show. I would never think of something like that.) just as much as the boy in the wheelchair. I don't understand. I just want to know what the rest of you think.

It's so easy, a caveman can do it!

Last Thursday night, I came down with the flu, just in time for midterm break. I was stuck in my room for the whole weekend, in exception to the Friday night football game at which I had to play in the marching band for. (It was senior night and the last game of the year, so there wasn't much getting out of it, and I still only had a cough.) It was really kind of interesting-in a terrifying way- to watch how my trail of thought almost completely diminished to the basic needs of the moment. All sentence structure entirely dissolved. "Ow. Need Kool-aid." "Cold." This was pushed further along by the on-again-off-again loss of my voice. Then, I lost all urge to converse. Short words and phrases recessed back to grabbing the box of Kool-aid or grabbing my throat. I felt like a caveman. My whole thought process was inexistent, and noone could really understand me. I just didn't possess the energy to do more. Eventually, that Kool-aid started working. My little brother was out of school for almost all of last week because of the flu, and so I tried helping him with his homework. Little by little, I watched my head come back. First, I tackled a coloring portion of a science lab. (The color-coding was insane. I was the only one who could figure it out, so I started playing with that while he was working on this even more complex English assignment.) Then, the English was taking too long, so I helped draw some pictures to definitions he had to look up. Come on- what would you draw for the word "regret"? Finally, I was more on top of things. I started showing my little brother how to do Punnett squares different ways. I evolved back to myself once again. Want Kool-aid. Now!

I'm not a bad girl, I'm just drawn that way...

This morning, I turned on the tv to the Today Show to find an old lady being tazed. (spell?) My first thoughts were: "What sick ...?!?" The clip started over again. Grandma sped through a CONSTRUCTION ZONE, mind you, was screaming and generally being rude to the police officer, throwing her arms around like she was going to attack him, ticked off because he actually doing his job. At first sight, it sounds really terrible that a 70-something year old lady was punished for disobeying the law, but she was being really obnoxious, very unlike someone her age, and most importantly: disobeying the law! Her age does NOT make her invincible. And she's already gotten over $40,000 from lawsuits. For some reason, the officer felt threatened- I would too if I had some crazy old coot wanting to jump down my throat!- and the Today Show cast seemed to ignore that. I hate saying such bad things about those who are older than me, but if they can't act responsibly, then I don't really have much respect for them. The matter could've been solved more calmly on both sides, but it's just a general "no-no" to jump in the face of someone with a badge. And a tazer.

Starblaze: A superhero from out of this world.

Throughout grade school, I went through a couple different phases in which I decided to go all out and try and become whatever career I was fixated on at the moment. In fifth grade, I wanted to be a writer. I had been in young author's since third grade, so by the time fifth grade rolled around, I had really put some thought into the writing business. I wrote all the time. My notebook went with me everywhere I went. From the swingset to the bus, I wrote all the time. My main project was my young author's piece of the year, based off of my favorite cartoon: Sailor Moon. Starblaze was born. Starblaze was a redheaded superhero from a galaxy far away who continuously fought her arch-nemesis _...? (At one point I think his name was Ben Laden, which was my spelling of Bin Laden... The name was all over the news at the time, and I didn't exactly know who/what it was, other than he was the most hated thing on the planet at that time, so it fit until I found a better name.) She and her friends were normal high-schoolers by day, superheroes by night. I didn't win the contest, but I had the greatest time writing it. It was one of the things that I was the proudest of, no matter how lame the attempt might have ended up. I was happy that I got that far. Today's writing is considerably different. Not only do I no longer have the time that I put into my story, I put a lot more thought into how I want to come off. Then, writing was pretty much effortless- I thought it, therefore I wrote it. That's still generally my approach, but now I need to keep looking at it and change it time after time again. Think she could save me now?

Kate plus 8? Not Kate + 4 + John + 4?

Reality tv has overstayed its welcome. In all this mess of media hype and drama, there has been one recurring story in the news that doesn't seem to want to end: Kate plus eight minus John. Let's recap: Kate fusses. John fusses too. Kate fusses more. John gets mad at Kate and files divorce. Kate and John share custody now. John's feeding the press with wild parties. Kate's "just friends" with her bodyguard. TLC got mad at John, releasing him from the contract, and now John and Kate plus 8 is now Kate plus 8. To think the madness couldn't get any worse. Looks like Octomom isn't the only lost cause out there. (C'mon, who actually watched more than the first show out of curiousity?) John & Kate Plus Eight is over, or at least should've been a while ago. I'm not exactly in favor of exploiting children. Kids need more of a life than a script and cameras. Maybe this will finally turn the situation in favor for the "eight".

Evolved words. No monkeys here.

As far as it goes with the evolution of my writing, the only major thing that's changed would be my vocabulary. After reading a couple of books by F. Scott Fitzgerald, (The Great Gatsby and This Side of Paradise), my choices of words have changed drastically. It was like a crash course on english, which is really something after having experimental teaching styles for english for three years. I sound smarter than a fifth grader now! Also, as I end my infomercial, I noticed that I've tried to make my work more poetic. I don't want to just bluntly say, "This is Spot. Watch him run." I want to tell Spot's story. There has to be something within the depths of that canine head. Therefore, I've tried working on the flow of what I saw as well as how it's put.

Cultural Opportunity #1 (Driven/Downhere Concert)

September 6th, 2009. Driven opens for Downhere. As sound check is delayed yet further into the night, the crowd slowly floods in. First, a couple hundred people, then about two thousand, and people are still coming. My band and I are nervously waiting backstage, wading in the muck that became of the baseball field after the torrential rain. We warm up, practice our songs a cappella (plus our instrumentalists that decide to sing their parts for the time being), and await the moment we go onstage. The time arrives. We slowly trudge up the ramp to the stage, set up, and go through the tedious sound check (Test, test, yeahyeahyeahyeah, test 1, test 2, yeahyeahyeah.). We look around to see if anyone's got a good shot at taking the mic away from him. The show begins. Whoever said that when the stage lights are on that you can't see anyone was seriously confused. I saw everyone: all two thousand something people out there, staring back at me. Yet, I wasn't scared, or even remotely flustered. Funny, really, especially as I was that one kid who cried at solo/ensemble because she wasn't prepared enough... I could do this! I had a switchfoot solo! Nothing's stopping ME now! I tried to run the lines to the first song through my head to check where my nerves were- oh no. : nothing. I panicked for a split second, then remembered once again why I was on stage. From there, I was set. The microphones were a little messed up, but it turned out ok. I could hear myself on the monitor, so that was good. I rocked it out just like in practice. The other singers saw me moving and loosened up a bit. We got nothing but good comments as we left the stage. So was my first concert.=]

"Free to Be Me" by Francesca Battistelli: At twenty years of age I'm still looking for a dreamA war's already waged for my destinyBut You've already won the battleAnd You've got great plans for meThough I can’t always see(Chorus)‘Cause I got a couple dents in my fenderGot a couple rips in my jeansTry to fit the pieces together But perfection is my enemyOn my own I'm so clumsyBut on Your shoulders I can seeI'm free to be meWhen I was just a girl I thought I had it figured out My life would turn out right, and I'd make it here somehowBut things don't always come that easy And sometimes I would doubt(Chorus)And you’re free to be you Sometimes I believe that I can do anythingYet other times I think I've got nothing good to bringBut You look at my heart and You tell me That I've got all You seek And it’s easy to believeEven though (Chorus)

"I Dare You To Move" by Switchfoot
Welcome to the planetWelcome to existenceEveryone's hereEveryone's hereEverybody's watching you nowEverybody waits for you nowWhat happens next?[Chorus:]I dare you to moveI dare you to moveI dare you to lift yourself up off the floorI dare you to moveI dare you to moveLike today never happenedToday never happened beforeWelcome to the falloutWelcome to resistanceThe tension is hereBetween who you are and who you could beBetween how it is and how it should be[Chorus]Maybe redemption has stories to tellmaybe forgiveness is right where you fellWhere can you run to escape from yourself?Where you gonna go?Where you gonna go?Salvation is here[Chorus]

"What Life Would Be Like" by Big Daddy Weave: I wish I was more of a man Have you ever felt that way And if I had to tell you the truth I'm afraid I'd have to say That after all I've done and failed to do I feel like less than I was meant to be And what if I could fix myself Maybe then I could get free I could try to be somebody else Whose much better off than me But I need to remember this That it's when I'm at my weakest I can clearly see He made the lame walk And the dumb talk He opened blinded eyes to see That the sun rises on His time Yet He knows our deepest desperate need And the world waits While His heart aches To realize the dream I wonder what life would be like If we let Jesus live through you and me What if you could see yourself Through another pair of eyes What if you could hear the truth Instead of old familiar lies And what if you could feel inside The power of the hand that made the universe You'd realize He made the lame walk And the dumb talk He opened blinded eyes to see That the sun rises on His time Yet He knows our deepest desperate need And the world waits While this heart aches To realize the dream I wonder what life would be like If we let Jesus live through you and me All our hearts they burn within us All our lives we've longed for more So let us lay our lives before the one Who gave His life for us He made the lame walk And the dumb talk He opened blinded eyes to see That the sun rises on His time Yet He knows our deepest desperate need And the world waits While this heart aches To realize the dream I wonder what life would be like If we let Jesus live through you and me

RE: Moe's Autoethnography

Autoethnography Response Sheet
ENGL 110
Peer Editing

Read the draft and conduct a peer conference according to the guidelines.

Next, answer these specific questions on a separate piece of paper:

1. What type of lead did the writer use? Action!
2. Is it successful? Why or why not? Absolutely!- It grabs you and makes you want to find out what happens to superman.

3. Does the title grab your attention? If no, do you have any suggestions for another title? Cosplayer: Unleashed. lol

4. Highlight in one color the writer’s description of his/her subculture.

5. Is this information adequate? Where could the writer have provided more information? Yep, it was really descriptive. It totally covered it.

6. How many narrative examples does the writer use? (Note: I don’t have the piece on me anymore..) Um, there were two different narratives: the main one was about the actual convention and was broken up into lots of little clips, the other was about growing up at a catholic school, which lead to the will to become a cosplayer and go to the convention. I know your paper’s already massive, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to add some more stories like your private school experience to add to the buildup to the convention as well as some stories of you being more of yourself since the convention.

7. Does each narrative example show how the writer’s membership in the subculture has helped shaped his/her identity?
Yeah, the catholic school bit totally explains it all. You could go into more how it affects you now, or has affected you since you became a cosplayer, though. I think it would help smooth out the paper a bit, so that you’ve got the before and after picture.=]

8. ***Using a different color highlighter, identify any analysis the writer performs in this piece. Where, specifically, does he/she analyze how the narrative examples have shaped identity? I think this would have to be the private school experience. When you explained being at the school, you mentioned how it lead you to be involved in comic books and whatnot, and made you care very little about “fitting in”.=]

9. Using a third color, highlight any examples of rich, sensory details or strong action verbs. AHHHH I WISH I HAD YOUR PAPER! Lol Believe me, your paper would almost entirely be covered in this highlighter given I could mark it up.=] “ I just about sh*t a brick.” Yep, that was my favorite. Off the top of my head, the intro and your flashback of Halloween was packed full of description, as well as the night leading up to and that morning. “Leaves crunching beneath my nikes” The actual convention was pretty good, you could switch out some of the more generic verbs for some more active ones, like rather than doug jones hugging you, he embraced you (or whatever other word you like to kind of change things up a bit=] ).

10. Does the writer have a strong conclusion? Or did you feel “dropped” at the end of the piece? Make some suggestions for improvement, if appropriate. Like I said, I no longer have your work on me, but you did a good job of bringing the day to an end. It made me want to go too, but that’s just me. Lol =]

11. Identify the audience for this piece. What, specifically, has the writer done to make this piece both appealing and appropriate for the stated audience? The audience would be any person who is not a cosplayer, or is unfamiliar with the concept. Description is everything, and you nailed it. From writing about how it feels to dress up at Halloween to the mobs of nerds swarming around superman, you made it a really interesting read. Oh, and your comparisons and (does the word mannerisms work?) totally add to it all. Great job.=]

Goodbye, poor brain cells- squirrel?

As I try to think of some topic to blog about, one of the new layers that I got at my new haircut swung into my face. I batted at it with my hand and was struck with the overpowering smell of gasoline. I feel like a sheltered child. Even though I've had my driver's license for a year now, I hardly know how to pump gasoline. My dad always took care of it for me, so I never did. Today, I filled my tank for the third time ever at a trusty, somewhat battered, gas station in town. The pump was rather old, you see, so when I lifted the nozzle to put it in my truck, it splattered all over my hands and barely missed my shoes. I looked down at the long pipe connected to the handle to see what could have caused it and noticed that it also was partially covered in gas as well, so my hands became yet more covered in gasoline. I kept scrubbing at them afterwards, but the dusky smell of farmer won't leave. (My dad used to farm, so all of his work clothes always smelled like gasoline.) It smells of farmers and boats and go-carts and the beginnings of roller coasters and boy. Isn't the smell supposed to kill a couple brain cells every time you're exposed to it? Is that really something that we should be filling our cars with and sending out into the atmosphere? Maybe I should stop smelling it. My head already feels emptier. Hmmm. I wonder if the traces that are left could still be so flammable. Or would it simply burn off quickly, never inflicting pain like the classic science projects from back in high school? I don't really want to find out the hard way. I don't particularly want to risk any limbs today. Wow, no wonder my parents won't let me have lighter fluid.


"Why do you have matches in your purse?"
"Because my parents won't let me have lighter fluid."
Imagine this question coming from a pastor's wife. Now you can probably understand why that response was so funny to her.=]

Writing: A history.

Me. A writer? Really? I don't know if I would go so far to say that I'm much of a writer, but I like writing. I try to make what I say sound eloquent, but I can't promise that's how it'll always turn out. When I was little, I was always in the Young Authors club, so I did some writing then. As school progressed, I didn't really have time to do so much writing. My only successful writing attempt was clear back in grade school... Ever since, it's been almost strictly myspace, email, or for class. Depressing, really... Hah. I'm pretty excited to get going with writing. I can't wait to see what we get to do in here.

Homecoming. That dreaded time of year when suddenly girls must scramble to find a date to deter utter embarrassment, or worse!: going single to the dance. I'm not one to really bother with the whole finding-a-date sort of thing, but when I was talking to some of my friends the other day, I was rather entertained by their complete exhaustion from organizing everything there is to plan

Sweet eighteen.

Sweet eighteen? Our Governor recently suggested that driver’s licenses be issued at the age of eighteen rather than sixteen to reduce reckless driving as well as DUIs. Sweet sixteen will be no more all due to a politician who didn’t think of the consequences. For starters, people are reckless at all ages. There are professional adults who are allowed to have their license even though they can’t drive a straight line on a flat, stable surface. School activities as well as classes require a student to be able to drive. From practices to early-morning classes, a student needs to be mobile, or the activity will disappear. There also is a great financial disadvantage for not only the driver but also the local government. If schools were unleashed with hundreds of students who can’t get around, schools would have to fund buses which lead to gas money and paychecks that would have to come up out of the blue.
It’s usually thought that as people get older, they naturally get smarter. This is very much untrue and should never be assumed in driving, especially when a simple mistake could cost a life. There are numerous people out there with cellphones, laptops, and fast food out there who feel that their life is much more important than everyone else’s. I’m not saying that teens don’t text and drive too, but there are too many adults that know better. Age has very little to do with IQ. The other day I was on my way to play practice when, driving through one of the many construction zones nearby, I was caught behind a middle-aged man who was driving at about 20 miles an hour zigzagging in between the orange barrels. This man obviously had been driving for many years before this incident and yet could not act responsibly in a vehicle.

Introduction Essay

Anywhere from 5:30 to 6:30 I wake up. Bright teal floods my vision as the walls of my room begins to come into focus. Upon reaching consciousness, a song consumes my thoughts as it sets the pace for my day, sparking multiple trails of thought which quickly become a knot of the endless concerns and excitements of my world. I am Kelsey. To sum me up in one word is a pretty hard feat to accomplish, but your best bet would be “random”. There are simply not enough hours in the day to contain all the many things that I want to do. At the given moment, it would seem easier to list the things I don’t do. I love music and am very involved in music. Golf is, by far, one of my favorite sports. Engineering has always been interesting to me, so I’m majoring in Biomedical Engineering. I also am a senior in high school at the moment going through the Fast Start Program.
Music is a very powerful thing. It can completely make your day. Music has always amazed me and made me want to recreate it. I am in band and chorus and have played the flute competitively for 8 years, even making IMEA District this last fall. Recently, I performed in a local church performance of Godspell and sang “Light of the World”. I also am one of the vocalists in Driven, a Christian rock band. As soon as I saw the band perform last year, I knew that it was probably one of the best groups of incredibly talented people that I’d met. I had to be a part of it, therefore I auditioned.
Golf is not just for grandparents. The summer before I started 8th grade, I took golf lessons and met my best friend. I have been golfing ever since, being on the golf team at my high school Freshman through Junior year. (A crowded schedule and too much distance from the school left me unable to join the team this year.)
When I grow up, I want to be a Biomedical engineer. As part of this engineering field, I will not only take classes specially for Biomedical engineers, but also all the technical classes for all the other engineering majors and add medical classes to it. All that work eventually leads to the ability to design anything from prosthetics to pacemakers. For the last few years, I’ve really been considering engineering as my uncle is a mechanical engineer. That decided it. I wanted to be an engineer. Then I went to Engineering Camp at the Milwaukee School of Engineering where I learned a bit more about each major and discovered Biomedical Engineering.
As a student in the Fast Start Program, I am a senior in high school going to ICC full-time in order to receive high school and college credit and to advance my education to prepare myself for Engineering school. So far, I love it. College is just generally an exciting thing! Being able to leave Midland for good doesn’t hurt, either. It’s not a bad school, it’s just really small (66 in my year), so things get old really fast, at least socially. Either way, engineering school altogether is the plan.
In an average day, eventually these will work themselves in somehow. Even though I’m no longer on my high school golf team, I still love it and try to keep up with it. Music has always and will always be a passion of mine, so that’s not leaving anytime soon, either. Engineering’s going to take a while to get going with, but I’ve already started and can’t wait to get farther. Fast Start is the way that I managed to be here, and I’m proud to be a part of it. Nonetheless, I’m excited to be a part of this class and am ready to get going with it!