Smoody15's Blog

Passive Voice

smoody15 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:44:14 +0000

The sun rises and the wet heavy air puts me in a mood of frustration and agony. The sun’s waking rays beat upon my red sun burnt face. I start squinting my eyes to avoid the hot sweat and the little annoying bugs swarming around them. The early morning noises echo in all directions around me. Birds are singing and chirping, little insects buzzing to natures’ mystical beat. I am angry that I can not control the continuous beads of sweat rolling down my stinging face. I’m holding a large Snook; an enormous fish compared to my small skinny seven-year-old body. My proud dad is snapping at me to smile and formulate a pose for the camera.

Adaptations, Limitations, and Imitations

smoody15 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:38:34 +0000

You can definately see the progress between each draft of this essay. The ideas and sentences are more well thought out as the drafts progress. The third draft is a radical revision and it’s the best. The author changed a few ideas and even added a new opening that brought the piece together. I really liked the essay and how it progressed throughout each draft.

Theme For English B

smoody15 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:35:35 +0000

I didn’t really care for the poem by Langston Hughes. Some of his sentences were repetitive or difficult to understand. I can tell that he put himself into the poem though. He wrote with his own style and that’s what makes it so unique. His message of racism is clear and I really like that about the poem.

Sleeping with Alcohol/Why I Write response

smoody15 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:24:31 +0000

The essay Sleeping with Alcohol wasn’t one I was interested in. I thought the writing style was difficult to understand. I did like how they described the alcoholic’s mood and actions though. I liked Why I Write a lot more because of how it was written. It was really interesting reading about all the reasons that person wrote and how descriptive they were with their reasons.

Topography

smoody15 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:17:56 +0000

My favorite thing about college so far has been the independence. Growing up my parents weren’t really strict about me going out with friends but I still had to tell them where I was going and when I’d be home. I had a curfew of 11 pm until I moved out for school this past fall. It’s different now not having to tell anyone where I’m going or when I’ll be back. I like having the independence of only having to worry about myself and no one else. I don’t have to worry about making sure my parents know I’ll be home by my curfew; now I can stay out as long as I want to. I also enjoy being able to buy my own food and take care of my apartment the way I want to. Now I can shop for and buy the types of food I want and not be stuck eating whatever my parents bought for the family. I can leave my bed unmade and not have to clean up my things unless I want to. I am also learning how to manage my money and time. Without having parents around I am learning to take care of myself and I love it.

High School Juniors:

My favorite thing about college has been the independence. My parents weren’t extremely strict growing up but I was still told to tell them where I was going and when I would be back. I had an 11 pm curfew up until I moved out for . It’s great to not have to worry about that now. I can come back home whenever I feel like it and go wherever I want without having to tell someone where I’m going. I don’t have to worry about cleaning my room or eating my . I can buy the food I want and leave my room as as I want. It’s nice to have such independence because it also teaches you . Moving out has helped me learn to take care of myself and helped me become the person I am now.

Favorite Ads/Commercials

smoody15 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:30:10 +0000

One of my favorite commercials is the Geico-Caveman commercial where the Caveman is in the airport and goes by a sign saying, “So easy a caveman can do it.” He stops and turns around to look at it, shakes his head and continues on. I’m not sure if this commercial is very effective but it is easy to remember so Geico gets stuck in your mind along with the music of the commercial. I like it because of the caveman’s expression and how catchy the song is. The audience is anyone old enough to buy insurance because it’s a Geico commercial but the caveman don’t necessarily give this idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H02iwWCrXew

I like this advertisement because of its message. I think that it can be effective if people take it seriously enough. It’s message is clear so it’s up to the audience to make their choice. The audience is anyone old enough to smoke or old enough to understand the message and stop themselves from smoking in the future.

I chose this ad because of its message. It gives the perception that if you become a vegatarian you will get the body of Pamela Anderson. Obviously this isn’t true but some people seeing it might think that it will help them get the body they want. The audience is younger women who want to get in shape.

Adbusters

smoody15 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:33:47 +0000

The ad I chose was on Soy Milk. It advertised drinking soy instead of regular milk because cows are injected with hormones and antibiotics that we then take in when drinking milk. So by drinking Soy, we help stop ingesting the hormones and help the cows. The picture is of a young woman, probably in her late 20′s, who is dressed in a blue cardigan and underneath, a striped oxford. She’s wearing glasses and her hair is pulled back into a ponytail and some is tucked behind her ears. She has a white, Soy Milk mustache from the glass of soy milk she is holding. She’s smiling and standing proud and tall. It’s a different message than the Got Milk? advertisements because those tend to have high class athletes and actors. They advertise that drinking milk will make you look as good as them while the Got Soy? advertises how Soy milk is not only healthy for you, but it also helps your body and animals. This idea attributes to the website’s idea of anti-consumerism by asking people to drink Soy instead of Milk. It’s against the Got Milk? advertisements. This advertisement is for people of all ages. It seems to focus more on older, maybe teens to older people because they would understand the cause more. It also focuses on those who want to help animals and themselves.

Advertising Influence

smoody15 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:23:10 +0000

The ad I chose is of a man, Gary Cooper, who is modeling for Vanity Fair. He is wearing a long sleeved t-shirt with a buckle on the sleeve and white pants. Both pieces of clothing are fairly loose on him. You can only see the top half of him as he looks away from the camera. He’s leaning on some kind of wood railing with his arm resting on the rail and has a white wood wall behind him. It looks like he could be by a shed or barn. His hand is dangling in front of his chest and he has has index finger pointing down while his other fingers are clenched back. The picture is in black and white but seems to have a sepia undertone. In the bottom right hand corner there is a miniature picture in a frame of the same picture in the advertisement. It’s also in black and white; it’s an exact copy of the larger picture. The writing on the picture is very small and without looking for it seems to disappear into the background. It tries to lure you in by adding a “Save 20% on your order with code: VF20Sale” on the bottom of the advertisement in red. It stands out more than the writing around it in black. It says, “Gary Cooper, 1934.” The bottom of the page says TheVanityFairStore.com. The focal point is the man’s face. The rest of the picture is mostly white or off white and his face is a darker color so it stands out more. The audience seems to be for men in their mid twenties to forties. It also seems to be for wealthy, fit men. It almost says that if you buy the Vanity Fair clothing you will be as good looking and famous as Gary. It’s a picture of Gary Cooper but advertises for Vintage Art Collection from Vanity Fair clothing. Because it is advertising for a vintage art collection, the picture being from an earlier time fits well. The picture looks vintage as is the point with what it is trying to sell. Gary Cooper was in old western movies from the 1920′s to 1960′s so the vintage idea fits perfectly with who he was as an actor.

Wizard of OZ and Pink Floyd

smoody15 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:58:35 +0000

It definately seems as if the music by Pink Floyd was written to go along with the Wizard of OZ. It’s a little spooky how well some parts where the characters talking goes along with the music. There’s a part where the Lion is talking and the way he mouths the words seems to go along with the words Pink Floyd is singing. It makes the movie feel like it has a darker sense than it was made to. The music isn’t very lively like most of the movie but darker and changes to mood of the movie to that feel.