College= Stress

For this past few weeks I've been up to my eyes in work. It seems like the more I do and complete the more work I get. This work just keeps piling up. I'm trying to stay afloat but it's hard when I have 7 classes=18 hours. Lately I've been deprived of sleep thanks to all this work and my INCONSIDERATE ROOMMATES!!!! I would use french.. But I'll refrain:)!! I need at least 40 hours in a day to complete this.I wish the instructors would take in consideration the workload and amount of stress we are under as college students( especially as freshmen sometimes). I'm busting my booty trying to keep HOPE alive.Thank GOD we only have 1 more month till summer break. I can't wait to get the HELL outta here! I just had 2 release some anger, now i better get back 2 work:(. I'm quite sure most of you feel the same way i do. Until next time....Tootles Poodles:).

My Status Update

"Transmissions from CampTrans"- This piece is arguing the lifestyle and processes that some of the people at Camp trans go through. Rogerian

"Dark Webs Goth"- Goths treat the web like real life and they realize that in order to transform communication into community outside information is needed. toumlin

"The Truck Stop as a Culture"- I think this piece is arguing that despite what goes on at a truckstop, the people who run them are trying to still satisfy the truckers that come there. toumlin approach.

"House for the Homeless"- most people homeless have a goal or a dream and they hope to succeed and to be independent. classical

Currently in my process, I'm still in the research stage. I've found out a good deal of information from my interview and for a book I've been reading from. I don't think the library has any more materials to help me, so I think I will be doing a lot more research via internet. Because most of the books in the library are either always checked out or lost. I don't think I need to make another trip to my fieldsite because Jizelle gave me all the info. that i asked of her/him. So far I'm working on my outline and still researching, researching, and more researching. For Monday, I want to know if my claims lead to my thesis and is my thesis strong.

One night Le Buzz

I recently attended the Le Buzz night club in Marietta,Ga. While there I saw a variety of people that i was not used to being around. I noticed a lot of conversating with going on in the night club, then I noticed that it was a gay and lesbian bar!! Drags started coming in through the front door periodically. The first drag was quite pretty, Jizelle, whom I wanted to interview.He had to be about 5'8'' 130 ibs. with a bob wig and french mannicured nails. The next drag that came in was too masculine, he had to be about 6'5'', 300 ibs., without heals!!He was just too much for me and I knew once I saw him, I didn't want to interview him, he looked mean. Upon seeing each other the drags talk like they are the bestest of friends.

They used average joe vocabulary, but Jizelle used the term "Drag King", and I had no idea what it meant so I asked her what it meant. She told me it was when a woman dresses up like a man, the opposite of a drag queen. I felt so stupid because after she explained it she said "duh" and started laughing. I also saw older men, 65+, there and I wondered why, but I dared not ask Jizelle that. Overall I enjoyed interviewing her and was invited to come back anytime.

Starting Subcultures

Topic: Drag Queens

Sources:

Conner, Randy P. Queering creole spiritual traditions : lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender participation in African-inspired traditions in the Americas. New York : Harrington Park Press, 2004.

Suarez, Juan Antonio. Bike boys, drag queens & superstars : avant-garde, mass culture, and gay identities in the 1960s underground cinema . Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1996.

Rupp, Leila J. Drag queens at the 801 Cabaret. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2003.

Nestle, Joan. GenderQueer : voices from beyond the sexual binary . Los Angeles : Alyson Books, 2002.

Berens, Jessica. Inappropriate behaviour : Prada sucks! and other demented descants. London : Serpent’s Tail, 2002.

Reflection: I think the book entitled Drag Queens at the Cabaret, would be useful for my research topic which happens to be Drag Queens. This book discusses the lifestyle and way of life of female impersonators. It also informs the readers about the lives of transvestites also. Most drag queens are or will become transvestites. It tells of the struggles they have to face in everyday life by society and how they choose to live happily as they are and to not let people bring them down. It tells also of the various performances they do at night clubs and the processes they go through nightly to get ready for their big shows.

Inchoate

I learned about my word from a variety of sources. In the article Hey Little Girl is your Daddy Home, the specific article dealt with The Amy Fisher Story, talked about the nieveness of girls because she allowed Joey Buttafuoco to talk her into trying to kill his wife. Only someone young and "dumb" could even consider doing such a crime.

The word inchoate means in an initial or early stage; incipient and imperfectly formed or developed (dictionary.com). In a book, entitled Statistical Science in the courtroom, the author talks about the early, beginning stages of trials in the judicial system. The author discusses processes and specific process involved in the premature stages in court.

Since the review of five sources, I've concluded that the word inchoate means the early,unprepared,and premature. I tried to find the word in the OED but I had difficulties looking that up, so I just used the GIL and other internet sources. There is not much else to go with getting the definition if the simple to word definition.

Nas

At first, i had a difficult time trying to find a good enough argument to make this paper about. My initial argument was going to deal with hip- hop activism, which talked about the creation of hip- hop. I realized myself after reading it thoroughly that a strong argument wasn't presented to I dropped that article in the junkyard to be recycled .My second idea dealt with the John Imus scandel and the degradation of African American women but i realized it was just someone stating the facts exactly how they had witnessed with little to no arguments being presented. After going to the writers studio, one of the professionals informed me that the topic wouldn't be big enough to write about. My tutor this time told me that it would be easier to get plenty of arguments out of hip- hop songs. She informed me that magazines and articles can have arguments but sometimes they are one- sided and a song is the easiest to do a paper like this. So she asked me for the name of a well- known hip- hop artist, i told her Nas, She googled "Nas lyrics" and the first song that came up was "I Can." I told her that song caused a look of positive controversy in the hip- hop industry a few years earlier. We then reaf the song and started identifying arguments and the elements of rhetoric. We then outline the paper and I went home to research Nas.

I looked at websites like VH1.com and imdb.com for his biography and album release dates. I looked at these particular websites because they are credible sources. They are no disadvantages of using this source, only advantages like accurate facts, no opinions.

Hip- Hop America by Nelson George

Nelson George was born September 1, 1957. He is an author,music and culture critic, journalist, as well as a filmmaker.He attended St. John's University in Queens, New York. He began working as a new editor for Billboard magazine for seven years between 1982 and 1989. He wrote two other books in the 80's as well as wrote in a column entitled "native son."He first got involved with film in 1986 when he helped Spike Lee in She's gotta have it. He has written 15 non- fiction books, including one best- seller entitled the Michael Jackson Story. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, where he continues to work by being a co- executive producer for VH1 and as a consultant for BET news. He made his directorial debut in 2007 in a film called Life Support, starring Queen Latifah.

I choose this author because he writes about real ordeals within the African American culture. He writes about the reelaationship between hip- hop and america. The postives as well as the negatives. He tells all about the contradictions and the negativitities surrounding the hip hop culture. I think this book would be interesting because it talks about how hip- hop has challenged and changed american society. It also addresses how and to whom that hip hop represents.

Dizzee Rascal

I decided to choose Dizzee Rascal, aka Dylan Mills,19, because I found his genre of music interesting. He has a certain style that is similar to that of American rap artists. In one of his songs that I listened to I noticed that the music video took place in a night club, which is currently the number one spot for hip- hop music videos to be filmed. It seems to me that he gets a lot of his style from the way that rappers present hip- hop over here.

Dizzee became popular at the end of 2003 in London. He won his first music award , Mercury Prize Award, for his debut album entitled "Boy in da Corner." He was raised by his mother on the East side of London, England. He had bery bad behavior while attending school, therefore he got kicked out of quite a few of them. Because he wasn't in school and underage, he got into a lot of trouble by stealing cars and robbing businesses. Music class, however, set him in a new and positive direction. He began making beats and tracks in the music room on the computers.

After observing songs from American MC's he developed his songwriting skills, and soon after became a member of the Roll Deep Crew. Their garage music was referred to as grime because it was so graphic and aggressive. His hit whit label song entitled "I Luv U" gained him national recognition and made a name for him as a grimy MC .Dizzee's first album was released in July of 2003. He was stabbed several times while in Ayia Napa, but recovered safely. His album was released in the U.S. in January of 2004. He has became an Undergroud King in London, but now is focusing on getting other young talent discovered. He released his second album in September of 2004, and a third in 2007.

Peer Workshop

I think that peer review went well. I enjoyed my fellow workshoppers. However, I don't think that I ever benfit much from the workshops. Most of the time my classmates tell me information that i already know because it's apparent. Most of my first drafts are rushed and shouldn't be considered the best i can do. All I get told is what i already know, like that I need to add more details and text and develop a stronger thesis. I beleive that my classmates feel the same way about this even though it's still good to get a different person to read your work. I think that the best benefit that i get is when i go to the writers studio. I think peer workshop should be changed to go to writer's workshop day. We are mostly freshmen non- english majors, so we can't really give each other many good tips to improve each other grades drastically. But like i mention earlier, I think that we can get a lot more accomplished if we had people with more experience then us to go over our paper.

PCU Logical Fallacies

Ad populum:

In the movie PCU, The vegetarian girl is leading a protest against eating meat because killing animals for fod is wrong.. so she says.

Death of an innocent

The likeliness of a character like Chris McCandless existing today is slim to none. Today's American society relies too much on economic and material means to survive from. Surviving without money and living in the wilderness is not on the agenda. Chris was a graduate from Emory University in Atlanta in 1990 with a degree in History and Anthropology. However, he wasn't the typical college student. He didn't have an interest in getting involved in with Sororities nor Fraternities like most students do. He only attended one party in which observers said he wasn't enjoying himself at all. His type of character could be best described as being a loner and independent.


I know of no one these days that enjoy being alone. It's said that every year people try their luck by setting out in the forest.They're supposedly venturing out to find themselves but only a fraction return alive. Most of the explorers were categorized as having mental impairments, but Chris was in a class all by himself. He had no mental disabilities, and was fully aware of the risks and consequences that he faced. Without money there would be no lavish cars, houses,or other overblown luxuries. I wish more people were like McCandless today. People who are willing to give up a lot of money and time to go on an escapade to better himself.


America's society today relies too heavily on money, money, and more money. It doesn't matter who you are, all that matters is how deep your pockets are. The average person would never set out on an escapade on unfamiliar territory, it's just not something a sane individual would do. Also, not many people would leave their families without letting them know there whereabouts. There would be no little evidence to trace you with if the police decided to investigate your case because no one knew where you were going in the first place. Setting out on an adventure like this in Canada is something that couldn't and shouldn't be taken lightly. You risk your life for a meer chance to prove that you can survive almost anything that live puts in your path. Not that many people have that much will and drive. Missing out on an opportunity to make money is not an option. TIME IS MONEY and going out in a forest would require a great deal of time and money wouldn't be earned. Being by themselves and their only means of surviving is by eating wildlife vegetation. Most wouldn't know how to survive and would die in a matter in days, rather than last as long as McCandless did.

People are now more concerned with their money then happiness and will stop at nothing to receive as much as they possibly can. Money is said to lead to happiness, because money is what everyone is after. Self- happiness and peace are not as important. People wouldn't know what to do if money lost its value. We are so shallow and self- absorbed that everything falls under money. Even sometimes family. I don't know many individuals that would donate $20,000 to a charity. If I did i, along with all other money- absorbed people, would call them crazy because that's not something that happens on a daily basis. McCandless proved that economics aren't everything, and without it you can survive.

AIDS and Advertising Argublog

The Company that created this ad must've had a genius working for them.I mean how else could someone, well let's say the "average Joe" develop such an idea as AIDS to focus on as the source of their commercial. I don't agree with the way they are using this ad. They knew that the ad was gonna drawn in a lot of attention and the company wanted its brand name on it. Even though they focused on a major problem in the world, their main goal was to line their pockets.. Ching!Ching! When you think about AIDS you'll always remember this brand, and consumers ran out to purchase this clothing in hopes of supporting the disease.The company uses many different strategies to appeal to consumers, one of which making you feel as if they strongly support AIDS funding and organizations..As if a majority of the money is going to a good cause.Which never really is the case. Even though it's not evident or told what amount the company gave up, we as consumers make the assumption that a good deal is.The characters are all sad, upset, and in dispair, they want you to feel their pain and you do based on a look at the picture. The company knew that and took advantage. Clothing has nothing to do with AIDS and it shouldn't have been interpreted in that way that it was. Overall I think this AD appealed to consumers because of the way it was presented.