The Ellipses

Well I took Chelsi's suggestion and decided to write my grammar post on ellipses. Although I have used ellipses to modify quotations in my writing before I've learned that I haven't been using them completely right. The following article helped me better understand how to correctly use them. The article talks about the proper use and formatting of an ellipses. Now I will know how to properly use them in my next paper.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/ellipsis.htm

HURTING WOMEN

I really liked this essay. The author may have come off a little strong, but I think she did a wonderful job backing up her entire argument with the actual photographs of advertisements. The presence of those advertisements allowed her reader to see exactly what she was talking about and it gave her essay a lot more credibility.

In her essay Kilbourne mentioned that although sexual advertisements don't create negative behavior they definitely affect it. I agree with her on that point, like it or not these images affect all of us. They make us numb, we are no longer as shocked to images like this and it gets to a point were we perceive them as normal.

Just imagine all of the little kids that live in Las Vegas, they have to see very suggestive and down right pornographic billboards everyday. Its quite sad to see how sex is marketed in our society to sell products even to very young children.

Killer Culture

As I was first reading this piece, I felt like Kupelian was putting too much of a blame on the media. I do agree that the media feeds children a lot of negative images, but I don't think they are the sole reason why so many troubled youths today. I do think that the author had a lot of good points, but I think he fell into some of the logical fallacies that made his writing seem too out there.

In his essay he talked a lot about how the hip hop culture has impacted this teenage subculture. While I do agree that the hip hop industry has had a negative effect on many kids, I felt like the author generalized too much. He made it seem like you were either some rap enthusiast or some heavy metal punk kid. He seemed to focus too much on both extremes of the issue.

Although by the time I finished his essay I was able to see his point a little better. I really agreed with him when he said that parents need to step it up. Its not the responsibility of the media or of anybody else to raise your child, its your own. And I feel that more than ever parents today need to really be involved in their children's lives, like that radio comercial says "If you don't talk to your kids someone else will."

Oh That Dreaded Comma

The comma, who really knows how to use it? I know I dont. I have been tought the proper use of the comma since the second grade, but it has never seem to have stuck. I know what you wonder, how could she have possibly gotten into college without knowing how to properly use commas? Well incase you didn't know getting into Dixie isn't very hard. Below I have linked a web page that explains when and when not to use a comma.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/02/

Framing Class

I thought Diana's piece was a little daunting. Her writing was very academic and centered towards a very educated audience. Although it was a well written essay with interesting information I felt like it was a little too long. As I read her essay I found that every couple of paragraphs I would ask myself how much longer I had to go. I don't know perhaps this essay was just not meant for someone of my social class.

There was a lot of good points that Kendall brought out in her essay, one of them being the affinity that children and teens have for brands. From many children in America having those eighty dollar name brand sneakers are not a want but an absolute necessity. Children today seem to be a lot more materialistic than they were twenty of thirty years ago and I think that the media has played a part in that.

Serving In Florida

Barbara Ehrenreich's little experiment was interesting. I wonder were she got the idea to do such a thing. In her essay she mentions that she couldn't survive blue collar life for more than a month, which made me wonder how long she originally intended to do this for.

Her essay reminded me of John Griffin's Black Like Me. Black Like Me, is a true story that takes place during the sixties, it is the story of a white journalist who through medical treatments and clever disguise is able to transform himself into a black man. For several months Griffin completely immerses himself into character as a black man in the south. Griffins book is not only about how it feels to be black but about what happened after his story broke the media.

Like Griffins book, Ehrenreich's essay left me with a somber mood. Although it was interesting it reminded you of the crapiness in life. I could only imagine how Ehrenreich felt as she walked out of Jerry's. Sure she must have been relieved to be done with the whole thing, but I imagine that she also must have felt a certain guilt knowing that some of her friends would never feel that feeling of relieve.

Grammar Post

When using numbers in my essays Ive never acutally learned the proper rules, Ive just winged it and hoped for the best. But I think its about time that I learn those rules. Personally when I'm learning anything I like it to be short and sweet, so I tried to apply that to this.

Writing Numbers

Rule 1. Numbers 1-9 you must spell
Numbers 10-infinity can use numerals

Rule 2. Be consistent within a category.

ex. My 10 cats fought with their 2 cats.
My ten cats fought with their two cats.