Post 5: Eight Week Courses

Most every college is America goes by a 16 week fall and spring semester because students needed more time in order to make room for homework in other classes. What is happening now, according to an online article entitled Arizona State University to offer more short classes by Anne Ryman a journalist for the Arizona Republic is the length of classes are cut in half? The article from 2011 talks about how ASU wanted to cut its tuition costs and flexibility when scheduling classes. It also gives students the chance to graduate faster than ever before by completing the same amount of classes in half the time.

 The article informed about the newer classes ASU was going to offer but let’s examine the rhetoric of the article. The audience could be anyone from students to parents it just depends on who would be looking up information on ASU. Ryman often talks about the students as well as older students and working adults that may be going to school there. The purpose of the article was to inform the reader about these new classes that ASU has to offer.

I personally have taken a two week class already and passed it and I am taking the follow up ENG 102 class as an eight week course. I think these classes are built for people who have the tenacity to work multiple hours to complete assignments as well as balance time to do work for other classes. For me these classes have been very rewarding because I am pushing myself to stay on task and getting my classes out of the way faster than I would normally. Less school the better!

As I plan to attend ASU I am looking forward to be taking some of the courses in the eight week format. This will help me get into my job in communications faster, as well as get me into ASU a whole semester sooner.

For now that’s all. See you all soon!

Post 6: Ball is Life

Post 6:

Basketball is not just a sport, not just a hobby, but it is truly a way of life. Growing up my goals and aspirations were mostly inspired by basketball, and looking back it was one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

From a young age I was that kid who was just one step ahead of everyone else, because I put in the time to perfect my craft. I had that on everyone else my age, and that was a never ending work ethic. Hours and hours at a time I spent in the gym playing basketball, alone or with friends. It was something I could completely dedicate myself to and I could see results which built my confidence. As my confidence continually grew, I started really becoming a good basketball player.

When I got into middle school my ultimate goal was to make the 7^th/8^th grade basketball team as a 6^th grader, which was pretty unheard of. I tried out and I didn't make it. It was such a good learning experience for me and it humbled me greatly. I continued my work and my abilities grew, and I think I saw the most improvement in my game that year then I saw in all 5 years previous. Overall not making that team that year was a blessing and I think losses are always more helpful than the wins.

I soared through middle school basketball scoring an average of 15 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1.5 blocks (which honestly was my most prideful stat). This was all on top of playing as a starter on two clubs teams and asking both coaches to not take me out for a 45 minute games. This behavior of nonstop playing started to really wear on my ankles/knees without me really even knowing. I was too wrapped up in my confidence and drive to realize the damage I was doing to myself.

8^th grade summer I tried out for the high school summer basketball team and they assessed were you would be based on your performance. I made the JV team, but my coach asked me to play for the varsity team as well. I was through the roof, and with all this free time I realized why not play a fun city-league with my friends. With all of my club teams being out of season and not being in school freed up a lot of time. Things were really starting to come together for me, I had long term goals with basketball and I had the results to back them up.

My first city-league game I was dicing through the other team, at one point scoring 15 straight points for my team. Then on one layup I jumped as high as I could and I fell awkwardly. I ended up breaking my foot and tearing three ligaments surrounding my ankle. I was done. I knew it. My high school coach knew it. That is why I said it was one of the biggest mistakes in my life, I was so blinded by my progress and confidence that I couldn't take a step back and slow down for my health. I had such potential, and it was gone. Nonetheless, I learned a lot from basketball and it has taught me so many useful skills that help me in my life. 

Thanks for reading, and come back for more soon.

Post 4: Organic Foods Today

Have you ever wondered where the meat in your local grocery stores comes from? Ever thought about how they make your burgers at fast food joint? How about when it comes out so fast and you know it's not fresh. Do we even care that our burgers are sitting under heat lamps until we pull up, or that we have tomatoes in season all year? Parents should be looking out for what their children are eating and if we don't know where it's coming from how will we ever know if it is safe to eat.

Today if you go to the supermarket you will see signs for organic sprinkled throughout the store on various products. Most of the time it will cost more and probably not be the same color you are used to, but what is important is where it came from. That is why I will always reach for the organic option on the shelves. Whether it be applesauce or beef I believe the organic choice is the better one when you consider all the chemicals and additives that are finding themselves very comfortable in industrialized food

I understand the people who are living on low wages and have a whole family to support. I have been there myself where my mom didn't have enough to pay bills let alone buy food for us to eat. When we discovered better ways of eating though we always made the effort to do so even if it meant we were only getting veggies. If that meant sacrificing chips and soda then so be it. We were looking to have a better, healthier life and the best way to do that is to watch what you eat. So it is possible to eat like this it just might not be as salty or as full of sugar but it is what your body needs in order to function properly.

The change has to start at home. If everyone had a garden like in WWII, fresh untouched, and chemical free veggies would be just outside the back door. What really needs to change in our supermarkets is the need for local food that supports the small businesses around us. Because the more you support that farmer, the easier it will be for him to drop prices. As well as, expand to make the product more accessible. Shelves in the supermarket should be cluttered with organic and natural whole foods. The days of cheap processing and preservatives are over. We need to shift the light in a positive direction and I think that direction is organic. 

This is my opinion on organic foods and there should be writing more soon, so make sure you come back for more non-stop random fun at this blog.

Post 3: The Feminist Issue

In my ENG 102 class we were asked to find some kind of opinionated journalism and talk about what it makes us feel and the rhetoric behind the words. I found a report on the sexism in the video game community and it is perfect for the assignment.

 Stephen Colbert is an American  political satirist and a comedian who reports on big news topics with his own twists that are heavily opinionated which makes them perfect for this blog assignment. In the interview Colbert questions one of the activists (Anita Sarkeesian) for Feminist Frequency, a feminist group that targets the gaming community.

This video on The Colbert Report is a perfect example of opinionated journalism, granted this is on Comedy Central. Stephen Colbert nails the feminist party with his male opinions, yet the end of the video he kindly says he is a feminist.All throughout the video they both show how they believe different on the subject. They both share their opinions toward the other sex in what guys want and what the feminists want and it all comes from honest perspectives.

This video makes me think of what it must be like to be a female gamer, but at the same time there are masculine men with big bulges that a women might like. So in both cases it's hard to completely agree with either side because there are games for both men, women and hybrids of both like Mario Party. Females could play similar games with graphics tailored to their liking if they choose.

 The purpose of the article is to give a platform for the activist Sarkeesian, as well as indulge games about what the norms for games actually are. To some it may actually come as a wake-up call to reallize how much sexism is in games. The games they are in are rated fairly and if a mature audience wants these graphic female images then why not make a profit off them. The real purpose of this article is to entertain which reduces the credibility of both Colbert and Sarkeesian.

For now that is all. I will be writing tomorrow and later tonight on more blog entries so come back for more very soon. 

Entry 2: Super SmashBros. Melee

Today I am going to shed light on one of my other passions in life and that is the video game, Super Smash Bros. Melee. This game has become a big part of my life in the past two years for many reasons. I enjoy it for its depth and unlimited potential as a fighting game, and because it also includes all of my favorite Nintendo characters from my youth.

One of my friends, Tyler and I one day stumbled across my old GameCube and decided to pop in my copy of Super Smash Bros. Melee that I had thrown in a box. We instantly fell in love with the feel of the game, and we played for hours and hours that first day. That is what caught our attention, but what snagged it was when another friend of mine, Shawn came over to play with us and he demolished us, smashed us. He was using techniques and moves we had never even thought of. He would hit us once and we would die, it was that simple. But what is more sophisticated is what he was actually doing, he was slurring together button presses and we couldn't keep up. This is when Tyler and I figured out just how deep and intricate this game really was. From that day on Tyler and I have worked to get to the next level, and we did this by countless hours of practice and watching videos of pro players to try and figure out what exactly they do.

One of the players that truly inspired us was, Mango. Considered to be by many the best Super Smash Bros. Melee player of all time, he was fast, he was in your face, and he was cocky about it. His amazingly technical and fast gameplay really opened our eyes and helped us see the potential that this game really has. In particular, Mango was in the last match of a championship game against the most worthy competitor and he styled on him and made him look like Tyler and I against Shawn.

As time passed we became better and better as we pushed each other to that next level, and it wasn’t until our first competitive tournament that we realized that we were better than the average player. We were improving, fast. Then one day Shawn came over to play with us, and we didn’t win but we didn’t get smashed. We put fear into him, and made him realize that if he wanted to still beat us, he is going to need to practice, just like us.