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!