Summer on the mind

Ahhhhh summer is just right around the corner. I think it’s safe to say that my mind has officially shut down and is focused on one and one thing only, summer! These last two weeks are the most miserable and stressful on students. You can find students passed out in the library in their workspaces stressing over an upcoming final. Many students’ grades are border line and the final exam is the making or breaking point to getting that grade they need. The other stressful thing is when you have two finals on the same day. How are you expected to learn a full semesters worth of material for two classes in the matter of a week. These next few weeks are filled with sleepless nights, a lot of coffee, and headaches. Though I know how miserable these next few weeks are I can still see the light at the end of the tunnel. As soon as I get home from a finals week I go into hibernation. I sleep for like three days just trying to get my body back to normal so that I can function. Im really excited to be home for the summer because I have the coolest job lined up. Im really excited to make money. I work at my local marina. So I will be getting paid to fill boats with gas, sell ice cream, and hit on girls that need help docking their boats. Words cannot describe how happy I am to start making money doing this. My summers are super chilled and relaxed. I try to use my brain as minimal as possible. We live and have a boat on our lake. I can literally drive my boat across the lake to get to work. I love summers on the water fishing, skiing, wakeboarding, and hanging with friends. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but for now bring on the coffee!

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4-20

With 4-20 finally here I feel like theres going to be a huge commotion over the whole marijuana issue. Last night when I was walking out to my friend’s house on willow to watch the hawks and bulls game I couldn’t help but to notice all of the red white and blue lights. They say the colors red white and blue stands for freedom, those colors seem to mean the opposite when those colors are coming up from behind you with a siren. I really don’t see why there needs to be a sudden rise in police force. Im not a “pot head” or “stoner” but I know that students that are drinking are a lot higher at risk of going out and doing something reckless rather then the kid smoking pot eating Cheetos on his couch. Our school is even hosting a hemp fest festival where theyre going to be promoting the legalization of marijuana and there will be a bunch of live bands playing on the quad. How can our school hold such a event but then turn around and be completely against it. I feel as though they are trapping the hippies in a bear trap and containing them in like mice. I really don’t see what all of the commotion is about 4-20. I believe it stands for something completely different then smoking a bunch of weed. I think its stupid that kids use this date as a excuse to smoke weed.

Research papers

Writing papers has honestly got to be one of my least favorite things to do. I feel as though I always have one thousand ideas going on in my head and I have no idea how to put it on paper or I have no ideas and hate what I see on the paper. When I usually do papers I have found that outlines are extremely beneficial to me. When I can get a little direction with my papers it really helps me to get a running start in a direction with my papers. Once I get going with a paper its easy for me to keep going. It always seems to be that first sentence that trips me up. Gathering research has always been the easiest thing for me to do when writing research papers. I love finding cool or new facts about my topic. When I find cool new information that I wasn’t aware of before it fuels my fire. I love taking the new things ive learned and incorporating them into my paper. The new information really gives me something to build the rest of my paper off of. I seem to be really having a hard time finding enough information with my paper on the show Workaholics. It’s a relatively newer show and theres not a lot of background information on the show. Ive mostly been coming up with viewer reviews or general information on what the show is about. My writing style definitely changes as I go from class to class. And it all depends on the basis of what your topic is that you’re writing about. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to be extremely punctual and proper when you’re writing a paper on Workaholics. The show is the farthest thing from punctual and proper. Im having a really difficult time trying to come up with 8-10 pages of information on the show. So if you have any ideas about how I could broaden my topic to meet the paper requirements im all ears! PLEASE HELP

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close reading

 Close reading to me is looking at a text under a microscope. A lot of the reading that I do in college is more of a quick speed read with a quick skim. I usually never take the time to look deep into my reading. Close reading is truly dissecting your text and looking at it at all angles. There are many ways to close read and some do it better then others. The best thing about close reading is that anyone can do it. Annotating a text by going through the text and underlining grey areas or other areas that stand out to you can be very beneficial. By underlining the text it allows you to go back and observe the text. If you have a question about a authors purpose of a certain portion of a text, no matter the readers level, you can go back and ask questions and look at it from different points of view. Another good thing about close reading is that you can incorporate it into your speed reading or skimming. As your cruising through a reading skipping over chapters you can still mark or highlight things that stick out to you, allowing you to go back and look at them later. Close reading is something that I was taught in my high school English classes but I didn’t even realize I was doing it. I never really put a name on it. We would be assigned to read outside of class as homework and would be assigned quizzes weekly based on our reading. As we would read we would sit down and discuss the reading like as if we were our own little book club. In these discussions we would annotate the text assignment after assignment. We would break the text down into little pieces and using everyone’s own different perspective on the reading would piece it together. Close reading is a great way to understand a text and is a great way to approach any problem that you may come across.

Paper Proposal

When I first started writing this proposal I had no idea what I was going to do. First of all I had no idea how I was going to approach this paper. I decided to pick the comedy series workaholics as my research topic. It wasn’t hard for me to pick this topic because it happens to be one of my favorite shows. It’s a relatively brand new show its only had one season and a second season approaching. The only problem with it being new is the fact that there’s no research on it. When I started digging into my google searches I literally was coming up with nothing other than reviews on the show. I have no idea how I’m going to come up with eight to ten pages of information on this show, I just know there’s no way. So instead of focusing on just workaholics, I decided to branch out my topic to all comedies. By comparing and contrasting all comedy shows I hope that I will be able to find a lot more information. This also makes the topic a lot more interesting to research. I plan on looking at the success or lack of, and what characteristics go into these shows. Now to tie it all in with workaholics is going to be the hard part. I love the show workaholics because of its originality and creativeness. The writers of the show are also the main characters. I noticed that this is really the only show where this occurs. I tried to find similar shows where the writers had a majority of the control or all of the control of the characters. When I thought really hard about some of my favorite comedies, South Park couldn’t escape my mind. Though South Park doesn’t deal with real fictional characters, the writers still create the characters through their sketches. I looked at some of the things that have made South Park the show it is today and tied it in with what makes Workaholics, Workaholics.

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Review

http://www.metacritic.com/tv/workaholics/season-1/user-reviews

When you think of the word workaholic, a lot of things come to mind. The word workaholic means that someone is addicted to work. It also implies that a person enjoys work more then their family/social life. To me this sounds absolutely insane! How could anyone be addicted to work, or like working more then hanging out with friends and family? The Comedy Central show Workaholics puts the workplace into a whole new perspective.

            Workaholics is a comedy series that tells the story of three young men who recently graduated college and now are being faced with the obstacles of the real world. Blake, Anders, and Adam play the roles of these three men, and their efforts in the workplace are far from serious. Anders takes the role of the leader in the group. He is a ex-swimmer and has hopes of one day becoming mayor. Blake is a super chill, layed back, guy that plays the role of the mediator of the group. Adam is a little nut job that lives life to the fullest. He definitely isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer but that doesn’t stop him from busting out a flex and always trying to show off his muscles. These three men live and work together every day. They make the workspace a fun and interesting place to be. Not one day is ever the same. You can expect to see them chasing women, smoking and drinking religiously, or chasing down Internet pedophiles rather frequently. They take their crazy care-free lifestyles and pack them in their suit cases every day.

            Workaholics is a rather new show. It had good success its first season, and is currently working on putting a second season together. The show comes on weekly at 10pm, and run for relatively thirty to forty minutes. I would not recommend this show to someone that is young or not watching it with an adult. It is aimed towards the teen to thirty-year-old audience. There is a lot of adult humor that may not be appropriate for a young audience.

            After viewing multiple episodes and sitting down with friends and watching the show I would give it two thumbs up and four out of five stars. If you’re the type of person that has a weird sense of humor and has a sense of adventure I would definitely recommend Workaholics to the audience that this appeals to. Every episode has you bent over laughing, and you will find yourself quoting the show for weeks to follow.

Spring Break

Ahhhhhhhh spring break, how I love to say those two words. I am extremely excited for spring break! Were leaving Thursday night for Tennessee to see my aunt whos sick. Im really looking forward to seeing her and my cousins who I haven’t seen in a very long time. I hope to enjoy the warmer weather down there and cruise with the windows down for once. I wish I was going somewhere crazy with friends like panama city or cancun but I can still dream. I feel like every year me and all my friends hype up spring break and always make some crazy plans to go somewhere awesome but the plans never fall through. In all honesty when I get back from Tennessee all I plan to do is hibernate and relax. Midterms are extremely stressful and I could definitely use a break. I feel like as soon as we get back from break finals are in front of us before a blink of a eye. So im really looking forward to relaxing and recharging the batteries. Oh, I would also like to enjoy a good home cooked meal, showering without shoes on my feet, and maybe not sharing a bathroom with ten other guys and coming home to the smell of throw-up every weekend. My sister also goes to college and I haven’t seen her since Christmas so im looking forward to spending some time with her and beating up my other little sister. I always know when my mom starts to miss me because shell call me nonstop, like every day, just to talk. It starts to get super annoying so ill enjoy her spoiling me and her shoving food down my face. Its me and my two younger sisters so my dad really loves just having guy time when I come home. He always tells me he gets mad because I left him with the girls, which I find hilarious. Spring break 2012 here I come!!!!!

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movie fan

I didn’t get a chance to go to the movie fan or see a movie at the normal theatre. Me and my friends all planned to rent a movie and watch it but they all bailed on that idea to go out and have other kinds of fun for the night. I come from a very small town that has a very similar video store. Ours is called video villa though, and may actually be smaller. When I go into the small town video store I feel a lot more welcome and more of a house warming acceptance when you walk in. When I walk into a blockbuster in a bigger town you feel as if they’re constantly is hackling you and they’re trying to sell you a car. All you see is giant advertisements and more things that they’re trying to sell you. I do like that the bigger stores have more things to offer you movie wise or video game wise, but I feel like they offer you less help and try to steal more money out of your wallet at the counter. When you walk into the small video store you get the house warming feeling. You can catch yourself chatting about the weather, what the new favorite movies are, or how your family is doing. I feel that it’s a lot easier to spend my money somewhere that shows customer appreciation, and an interest in their customers. I also found that prices tend to generally be cheaper at the smaller store. I am a big old movie fan. I also like the newer movies but I’m a big old comedy and scary movie guy. I just find the humor and scare tactics a lot more original and less cheesy. I am really looking forward to seeing the new Project X movie and Act of Valor.

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free write

Ahhhhhh all I can think about is being home for spring break. All of this cold weather coming in is really depressing. I hate walking to class with a runny nose, watery eyes, and having everyone that walks past me think that I was crying. I can’t wait to be home and take a nice shower (without sandals) and enjoy a nice meal. I’m starting to get tired of this cafeteria food. My flex dollars are really starting to diminish quickly. The thought of subway makes me sick to my stomach. I have to walk past it at least three to four times a day. The smell haunts my nose every time I walk past it. Does anyone else agree that the people that make your sandwiches put zero effort into it, and I would say you have a eighty five percent chance of repeating your order at least three times. Im sorry I just went off on a rant about subway but I cannot stand it. Im really looking forward to finishing up my project one and having some weight off of my back. Im pretty nervous about it because I think im the only one doing a TV series so I hope it all works out. Im really hoping this week flies by. I’m really looking forward to going to unofficial this year to visit some friends. Last year was crazy, hopefully I make it back and don’t end up in a body bag….RIP. I also need to escape my floor. Theres these girls that think its hilarious to come and knock on our door at three a.m. every other night and im about to freak out and make the news. I am done complaining about my life now, but I am really looking forward to the up and coming weekends and spring break. #stressedout


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visual

Every time I check out a new video game, pick up a new magazine, or look at a new movie that comes out I look right past the details of the movie. Within the first twenty seconds of observing one of these I know whether I am interested or not. The use of visual representation is essential in drawing in your audience. Things such as size, color, and position of the objects are the biggest factors in grabbing the audience’s eye. Before the visual section of the class I never realized how important all of these things meant. I was looking at these objects with no knowledge of how, or why the artist chose the layout of the visuals. Size of the objects shows importance. If you see a tiny little figure in the background obviously its not going to catch your eye. One of my favorite new video games out is NBA 2k12. On the cover you’ll find one of the greatest basketball players that ever played soaring through the air. Of course this game is going to appeal to a audience that likes sports, most likely basketball. There are elaborate bright colors behind the superstar to make him stand out more, and to catch the eye. MJ is also the largest object and he is front and center on the cover. All the components of the cover is what grabs the buyers eye within the first few moments of seeing it. This game appeals to a basketball fan. The use of the size of the player shows his importance. Color can be used for many different reasons, but the use of color in this was to make the player stand out. I think 2k12 is one of the most addicting games to play. Me and my friends get super competitive and could play this game for hours on end. Its almost led to a few fistfights. I’m not blaming the cover artist for these fights but he/she definitely made it a easy buy for us.

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Free write

I feel like this has been the longest week of my life. The weather went from being beautiful, back to snow and freezing walks to all of our classes. Its also one of my best friends birthdays this weekend. I always think that when you have something fun or planned coming up that it feels like it takes forever to get to that point. My Intramural basketball league started this Wednesday. I realized how out of shape I was after running up and down the court twice and finding myself huffing and puffing for air. This up-coming project has me pretty excited. I am debating on recreating a album cover for my favorite artists latest cd or putting a poster together for the TV series workaholics. I am a little confused on what the project is still and how were going to be using this first project later on. Im glad we got the opportunity to choose a subject that interests us. Right now im taking a accounting class and I think it is the worst class ever. I have zero interest in everything that comes out of my professors mouth and that class always seems to take five hours. Waking up knowing that today in English I was going to do something interesting makes it that much easier to get to class every day. In my writing I usually find it easier when teachers just assign me a topic to write about. I usually hate the idea of free writes. I hate free writes not because of the lack of imagination and ideas, I just can never choose a topic to write about. I hate the awkward moments when ten of us are all sitting around with tons of options but not one of your friends can decide on what restaurant you guys want to go to. I love how this class has options and is the complete opposite of my Accounting class.

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commercials

Commercials

After being assigned to watch television, the hardest assignment I’ve ever had. I realized how much the commercials that come on after your favorite shows tie in together. I never really realized how much the commercials try to appeal with the audience. Before when I would watch tv I always would walk out of the room to grab a bite to eat or use the bathroom. The only time I look forward to ever seeing a commercial is during the super bowl or when I find myself watching those stupid infomercials for 45 minutes. As I actually sat down and observed the trends of the commercials I actually found it extremely interesting. I turned on one of the college basketball games and recorded all of the commercials one by one. I noticed right away that mens health, car commercials, food commercials, and commercials that advertised better success in bed was a very popular trend that all of these commercials seemed to follow. All of these commercials were appealing to young and older men. I mean it makes perfect sense. Most females don’t watch sporting events on tv, so it only makes sense to make all the commercials aimed towards men. Now after watching the game my curiosity was peeked about these dumb commercials. I forced myself to watch the worst show of all time…. Jersey Shore. The switch from espn and mtv was a drastic change. It went from food, cars, and beer to instant female make up products, new tv shows and series that were coming on, I almost threw the tv. One of the best assignments ive ever had quickly took a turn for the worst. As I watched the show I became a bigger hater of the show and mtv as a whole. I did force myself to watch a entire episode, and though I hated it I still found the correlations between the show and its audience. This will be important when we are writing our papers and keeping in mind who our audience is.

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Introduction

Hi, my name is James Miller. All my friends and family call me Tre, but you can call me whatever you choose. I’m a Biology major, and business management minor. I’m actually a sophomore here at ISU, and am retaking this class for a better grade. I hope that its better the second time around but I have a feeling I’m better off not getting my hopes up. I love to play sports, and lift. Im a huge Derrick Rose and Bulls fan, and I am definitely all about the north side when it comes to baseball. Music also plays a major role in my life. I probably have one of the most dynamic I-tunes libraries out of most people I know. As I said this is my second time taking the course, so I already have a good idea of what the course is about. I am hoping that the projects and assignments aren’t all the same. I am hoping to gain skills and better my writing abilities. What hurt me the most the first time I took this class was my organization. At the end of the course we were required to turn in a portfolio. I hadn’t kept all of my projects saved and it really killed me when it came time to turn everything in. This semester I plan on keeping everything very organized and try to stay a step ahead of the game rather then 3 steps behind. I am fairly comfortable with my writing, but I tend to try to squeeze to much in, and cram my writing together. Im hoping to work on this and put together better, more organized, papers that are easier to read. I tend to find myself wondering all over the page when it comes to reading. When I do this I notice it’s extremely to retain the information. I’m hoping that by learning how to identify different genres I’ll become a better reader. Overall, I am excited for the semester and hope that I come out of this class a better reader/writer.

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