Why a black semi-truck?

The black semi-truck in this add signifies ugliness.  The fact that she is driving a semi-truck lets us know that she is strong, and because she is wearing all her pink it tells us that she is beautiful.  Because the truck is black, she appears more eloquent, signifying her strength.  This ad shows that no matter what the circumstances, you (women), can always be strong and beautiful.

Thesis

The thing that stood out the most to me in this article is the difference in a strong and weak thesis.  The paper defined a thesis as an idea about your subject, a theory that explains what some feature or features of your subject mean.  A lot of times people will make thesis statements that are completely obvious.  They do this because they know about the subject and know that they can write about it.  This handout tells us that that is a weak thesis.  In order to have a strong thesis you must make a claim that is not already understood by everyone, like for example:  candy is bad for your teeth.  A strong thesis proves a point that is not obvious to everyone else and the body of the paper proves the thesis is right.  I will admit, I have had a couple weak theses in my lifetime.  I know now the difference between a strong and weak thesis and will try my best to only use a strong thesis from here on out.

1983 Coalescence

Never before in my entire life did I believe that "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" had any meaning.  I thought the song was just about young women going out and having fun with each other.  Lauper did a wonderful job of making this song pleasing to the ears, as well as meaningful.  Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield" is a great example of meaningful music as well.  She used her rebellious attitude and appearance to show that women do not have to answer to men, that they can stand up and fight for themselves.  The two videos go great together by showing that woman can not only be independant, but they can also stand up for themselves and do what is right.

The video that had the strongest message was "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar.  This video told women around the world that they no longer had to stand around to be battered and abused by anyone.  The timing of this video was perfect, and helped inspire many women to take control of their lives and make a future out of it. 

My music video is "Lightning" by Eric Church.  This video tells the story of a man on death row, just minutes before his execution.  You learn quickly in the video that the man is on death row for killing a cashier at a liquor store.  You also learn that he had no intentions to kill anyone, that he was only trying to get money to feed his young daughter.  The prisoner knows that what he did was wrong, and he wishes he could change what happend.  He says multiple times throughout the song that he is ready for his final judgement day, and eventually says that he is ready for his final resting place.  This song is one of three that Eric Church has written completely by himself.  The basis for this story was inspired by the movie "The Green Mile", one of Eric Church's favorite movies. 

Before reading this article, I always thought that watching the televison was what you did when you were tired and just didn't want to have to think.  It was just a method of relaxation, and something to calm us down.  Now I understand that tv has become so much more than that, and it is very complex.  It is hard these days to watch tv and not have to think.  With all the suspenseful shows and the guessing games, you spend just about as much time wondering what the right answer is as someone in school.  Commercials don't help out much either.  It's rare to find a commercial that doesn't question your judgement and make you wonder if what your doing, eating, or driving is the right thing to do or use.  The television is no longer the place to go just to watch the news.  The television helps you decide what you're gonna have for supper that night, the next car you're going to buy, what outfit you're going to buy at the mall, and what new cell phone you want.  The television is truly a salesman.

Barbie

I thought the essay was surprisingly interesting.  Never before did I know that people took Barbie so serious.  This essay proves that just the smallest things to lead to a huge story.  Before I read this I knew of Barbie dolls as something that my older girl cousins used to play with when we were kids, but now I understand that people actually find comfort in Barbie dolls.  All this being said, no I do not plan on collecting Barbies.  I am happy with my Barbie count being at 0.

Myself as a Text

When it comes to meeting someone very important for the first time, the handshake says a lot of things.  These people could be future employers, future father in laws, future best friends, or future sport coaches.  My handshake has a lot to say about myself and my life style.  It tells people that I appreciate hard work, and that I do my best to make sure I work hard.  It shows that I care about what direction I'm headed in, and I don't have time to make mistakes.  It allows people to know that I am a physical guy, but I don't believe in hurting anyone.  It tells that I never give up, and I will never over do myself.  Most importantly, my handshake tells that I know what it feels like to have everything taken from me, and that I take nothing that life gave me for granted.

The Last Stop

"The Last Stop" is a well told story about a mortuary, and the jobs done there.  The author points out that many people associate the mortuary with death, which can be considered true.  He quickly learns however, that's not all they are about.  He learns that they are not about death sadness, instead they are there to make the deceased look lively and beautiful, to allow their families to see them as they were.  The mortuary is not about being sad and depressed, they are there to help the families cope with the loss of a loved one, not by counseling, but by giving them a nice memory to have that will last forever.

Blog Response for "Death of a Moth"

In Virginia Woolf’s “Death of a Moth”, she tells about the time she witnessed a moth die.  The moth was trapped inside her room, and was only able to see the outside world.  The moth tried all it could do to escape the room, and prevail from the pain of not being able to carry on.  When the moth realized there was no escape, it gave up, and laid there to die.  What in the world would inspire Woolf to recollect a memory so boring and dark?  Maybe she believed the moth symbolized her, and her depression was the “window” that prevented her from enjoying the beauty of the outside world.  Woolf knew what it was like to fly back and forth, back and forth, back and forth on a window just to discover that there was no exit, and she would later know the feeling of giving up, just like the moth did.  As a reader, this makes me think of all the “windows” that we all face in our life.  Some examples are depression, sickness, family, income, and education.  As a writer, it makes me appreciate moments like these even more.  Woolf could have just witnessed this moth die and think nothing of it, but she didn’t.  She knew, just like I do, that life is an uphill climb, and sometimes we do let life get the best of us.

Dustan Pate