Blog #5

            I chose to write my opinion piece on White Mayor, Black Wife: NYC Shatters an Image by Jesse Washington 2013November 16. I admire this article. Everything about it is all the more proof of the high rising Love that Sees NO Color. Unveiling what many have wanted and desired, yet retracted for fear of judgment or attack. “The fact that people are able to marry someone outside of their race without feeling as if they are going to have to have any repercussions is a great thing.” “Another milestone is passing in America’s racial journey… A white man with a black wife.” 

            There are words presented in this article from various persons, white men, black women, and interracial. They side with the validity and the optimism of what Love has been able to conquer. But noted in this article is that the fight for love in other races is least in black woman and more delinquent even upon their own race. Statistics indicate as much as 97% of white men are married to white women. “Stung by the sight of so many successful black men choosing white wives.” A sense of personal rejection. "Black and white has been more of a taboo in the eyes of enough people to be a deterrent."

People make racist remarks by the loads to identify still there is hatred. Even shown in hate crimes. Through the hatred and the ache, there are those who prevail but those who are still prejudice. What they see is not of purpose their happiness is not the importance at hand. They are still stuck in the "It's black and white, it's slavery and Jim Crow and the fact you can't talk about it," Let those who can’t appreciate love without boundaries stay where the times don’t change. Because these days are a lot more diverse. Times will change without them, people will become fearless.

It is a real victory that we so much as have that freedom, there may be opinion and hatred towards those who appreciate a love once taboo, but no matter if it is hidden, if it is held inside ones heart. The fact is that it is still there, and Mayor of NYC has inspired many by presenting his family and his wife with honor. "It's just the resonance of it. How much it means for families to see a family like them in a visible place."

 

Blog #5

Jake Haman

Professor Bolaski

English 100

November 18th 2013

 

    1.   The opinion piece I chose to write about is Getting fit, even if it kills you.  This article was published in the New York Times by Stephanie Cooperman.  This piece is very interesting to me because I have been trying to figure out for the last year if I am a fan of cross fit or not.  It is explicitly stated through the piece that cross fit is not for the novice.  If you are new to cross fit, or working out in general, and want to begin with cross fit you are more than likely to get hurt. In this article Wayne Winnick, a sports medicine specialist says, " there's no way inexperienced people doing this, are not going to hurt themselves."

2.  Some of the objections to this claim are used in the article as peoples personal achievement stories through cross fit, such as this, "

Eva Twardokens, 40, an Olympic alpine skier in the 1992 and 1994 games, said years of cross fit training have enabled her to bench-press 155 pounds, 20 more than she was able to do when she was training for the Olympics."  Some of the other objections are that cross fit work outs can be made more or less intense based on the persons abilities but they can still do the same exact workout.  Also Mr. Glassman, the founder of cross fit is pretty open about the claims made he says," It can kill you, I've always been completely honest about that!"

3. The people who are making these objections are the ones who enjoy pushing the limits of fitness and strength also known as the cross fit followers.  Today cross fit has more than 50 affiliates in 21 states and 5 countries.  Also Mr. Glassman's site has averaged 25,000 new visitors a week. The concession was also stated earlier by Mr. Glassman's statement at the end of paragraph two.

4.  The rebuttal is stated in the last paragraph of the article, I wouldn't say it is a great objection to the claim being made but it shows how the founder of cross fit is sticking to his guns.  Mr. Glassman states, " dismissals of his extreme workouts merely help him weed out the weak." He also states, " if you find the notion of falling off the rings and breaking your neck foreign to you, then we don't want you in our ranks."  

Blog #5

The opinion piece I chose to write about is called "Lay off my daughter's ADHD", by Mary Beth Holcomb. Throughout this article you learn about the struggles in school Mary has gone through with her daughter she refers to as 'A', and the decision she made putting her daughter on medication. I found this topic captivating so I read it and decided this was perfect. Mary is explicit about her view on  the diagnosis of ADHD as she has changed her thinking from a critic of the disease to a believer. Her title makes that clear and she says this about the medication's effect on her daughter,"The dread has vanished. While I don’t attribute this solely to pharmaceuticals, I’d be a fool to deny they’ve helped. They aren’t magic, but they’re another tool in her arsenal."

I too have ADHD and have faced people that argue it is over diagnosed, but to them I say who cares? Described in this article is was almost a life changing diagnosis for Mary's daughter who was literally having anxiety attacks about going to school because she was embarrassed she was different from other students. I was failing out of college before I was on medication and now I am at least passing. People don't understand what it is like, truly. Unless you have it, you don't know how much harder it is to study, to sit in a classroom and listen to a teacher talk but every time someone hits their pencil on a desk your distracted, and the worst part is when teachers and parents blame it as being lazy. 

As stated in this article, the rebuttal would be that over diagnosis is possible. There are many symptoms to this that might just be a kid being an immature kid. It may be true that anyone could be ADHD. Perhaps this isn't a clear way of handling a child's behavior. I would say that many kids do need to be disciplined better at home and maybe they could sit still while sitting in a class room. Perhaps getting kids outside when they are home would help get rid of some of that energy, rather then letting them sit in front of a tv every night or play video games. 

There is also the part about medicating children that I could see scaring many parents. But really what side effects have been shown to damage your kid from taking 15mgs of adderall each day for school? Nothing. Your not getting your child high. For a true child that has ADHD your doing absolutely nothing but giving your child a chance at succeeding in school. This medication isn't an advantage in my mind. It is the proper tool needed for a someone with this psychiatric disorder to keep up with every other normal child in school. To give them a chance at working hard, learning to study, staying focused and ultimately living normally. 

Blog #5

(***Remember that Blog #4 was comped.)

I will be providing several examples of this assignment that I'll post today; you can use these as a template if you like. You'll need to provide a sequence of objection/concession/rebuttal in your own opinion piece, so I would definitely review examples.

The premise of this assignment is easy; the details require a good amount of critical thinking. As what we're about to do here is such a critical part of an opinion piece (a great one, that is), I will be posting a voice lecture that will help you with both blog and paper.

1. That said, what I want you to do is find an opinion piece on a topic that interests you. Regardless of subject, whatever you choose should be relatively recent - let's say within the last month. I want you to isolate the piece's major claim (keeping in mind that opinion writing is always argumentative writing) and note whether the claim is implicit (implied, not directly stated) or explicit (directly stated). If it's explicit, quote the sentence(s) that encapsulates the argument. If it's implicit, use your own words to infer the author's argument.

2. Now, I want you to look for any anticipated objections to the claim. This means counter-arguments or objections to at least part of the claim. "Anticipated" here means this: any good piece of argumentative writing is going to address the audience's likely objections to the claim. This means that writer is anticipating what an audience might disagree with/find flawed, etc. In doing so, that writer can then actually address these objections in their writing. Doing so widens possible and probable audience and avoids alienating readers. Readers are much more likely to stay with you, even if they vehemently disagree with your claim, IF you deal with other points of view. Well balanced opinion pieces don't offer just one point of view; they promote/present a particular point of view as superior/correct/best while also engaging with competing points of view. 

Usually, writers who address objections in their writing often offer a concession, which, in its most basic form, is an acknowledgment that the other point of view is valid/important/partially correct, (whatever it may be). Even if you're a die-hard proponent of a particular viewpoint, you should be able to come up with at least some minor point about the "other side's" validity or importance. Last, you offer a rebuttal: after conceding a point, you return to your own, reaffirming why your claim, ultimately, is the one to adopt. Does your writer address any objections, whether implicitly or explicitly? How so? Quote if you find an explicitly addressed reader objection. If you don't find any in the opinion piece, move down to the "Comment" sections. Guaranteed, you're going to find readers raising objections. What do they have to say?

3. Having identified possible objections (explaining briefly who might make such objections and why), note whether the writer makes a concession (concedes a point to the other side). You can look at the Comment section for this as well, but ideally you'll find your author making at least some sort of concession.

4. Lastly, identify any rebuttals made. IF you find any concessions in your piece, you're going to find rebuttals. What are they?

***Often, the title of an article will instantly confirm it's an opinionated piece of writing. I've provided some examples of such below. News/Culture/Politics sites like Slate and Salon don't usually have "Opinion" sections per se; they're often laid out topically, so you'll see sections like "Life"; "Community"; "News/Business"; "Art"/ etc. As such, there's no central "opinion" section to go to wherein all the opinion pieces are conveniently collected. So looking carefully at titles/subtitles is important here. If you go to a newspaper or newsmagazine, you're usually going to find a section titled "Editorial" or "Opinion" (usually, it's going to be "opinion"). Easy to search, obviously, since opinion writing is confined to one section. I ask that you choose the piece for this assignment from one of several different forums/sites; you'll see both "kinds" of sites here.

You can choose an opinion piece from one of the following site, even one of the articles listed below. I will add more tomorrow.

Slate 

 "No Faith in Science":

Why the Higgs boson is not like a sea of milk that sustains the gods."

Salon

"Stop thanking the troops for me: No, they don’t “protect our freedoms!": Why is pro sports constantly jamming military fervor down our throats? Their claims are wrong in more ways than one"

Wired

"Why Facebook Would Pay $3 Billion for Snapchat (And Why It Shouldn’t)"

The Huffington Post

Random, But Fun . . . 100 Ads "That Got People Talking"

Found this on the page where Uri's template review appears. Thought some of you might enjoy this. Some of the ads are shocking, some are seriously retrograde, most are good talking points.  Any thoughts?

(Just scroll down, past the Benefit ad.)

Blog Post #3

Blog Post #3

Ian Hadder

Amy Bolaski

English 100

October 10, 2013

1. http://www.arborcollective.com/snow/boards/view/43/draft

2.  I picked this review because I am the target demographic and a potential consumer of their product. The review is on the 2014 version (released September 2013) of the Arbor Draft, a serious park board for snowboarders who want an edge on riding hard and being successful in the park. I am in the market currently for a new board and especially after the techie video review given and the spread sheet of stats on the board I may just be sold.

3.  The frigid cold air, the freshly groomed corduroy lines of snow in front of you, the ground glistens as if it was the hazy outlines of a dream. Everything is quiet, the familiar sound of you snapping your bindings closed as you look down your line that you scoped out on the lift ride up. Your about to drop in and tune out. To some, these words resonate profoundly, especially to fellow park riders. If you are one who lives for the rush of stomping that new trick you have been working on, adding one more rotation on your biggest spin, or sending that 60 ft jump that you wake up at night in cold sweats thinking about then know how important every detail is when pushing your limits to the edge. The pinnacle of park snowboard technology has improved, it is now knows as the 2014 Arbor Draft.

Blog Post #3

             http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3789544

I chose this Article because of the title point blank. HUFFPOST’s Benefit Mascara Ad puts Male Private Parts Front and Center( VIDEO). This article is about a mascara, Mascara? I know that’s what I was thinking. This particular is all the rave per say. I have heard many great things about this product. Initially I wanted to check out the hype and what makes it so special… then this link came up and Holy Moly was I stunned in the most amusing way possible. The article was very short and sweet and had the video posted along with it. There was no cheesy infomercial tactics… i.e) floating quotes and fake actors smiling so hard until their teeth fly out their face to somehow signify their overly joyous reaction to the product. It simply was a description of the video, and yes how it was a little bazaar, but that made me want to see the products benefits even more. The creators definitely had my attention, and my amusement.

 

       I was very curious to see what in the world a man’s private part had to do with a mascara. (That sounds really funny, but you check it out and you will feel those question marks poking you).I was SHOCKED and oh so CONFUSED, Why is there a man with a red speedo?  Another with a wetsuit? Another doing yoga and well many more… but WHY are you all pulling a mascara tube or multiples out of your speedo, wetsuit, and yoga shorts!? Please imagine me laughing and displaying a “stink face” at the same time, because I’m pretty sure that’s what my reaction was looking like. I love that they had humor, or a lot to be exact. It was cheesy and bazaar to be honest, but man I’m thrilled to seek this product in stores now. I’m not saying the awkward bulging men in the video suddenly made me say “OMG I need to have it” , but it had me so curious as to why someone would make such an outrageous ad for something so irrelevant. This Ad had entice to seek benefits and more reviews for the product. It made me want to see what the business was about.

Blog post #3

1. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-14/entertainment/ct-prj-0415-50-shades-grey-20120413_1_american-women-shades-execution

2. While searching for review examples, I came across a review of E.L. James' popular novel 50 Shades of Grey. The review, titled "50 Shades of Retrograde" was written by Jessica Reaves and was published on April 14th, 2012 in the Chicago Tribune.

I was drawn to the article, because like nearly every other woman I know, I personally read the series. In one week. Including one stint of staying up 72 hours straight. I have never met anyone who felt indifferent to  the 50 Shades series after reading it; they either love it, or hate it.

Reaves was originally enthusiastic about the book series as she thought it was empowering women and encouraging them to embrace their sexuality. Actually reading the book brought a quick end to that enthusiasm.

"Let me be clear: There's absolutely nothing wrong with "Fifty Shades of Grey" as a concept; erotic fiction can be, and often has been, beautifully written. It's the book's execution that's problematic. Well, the execution and the characters. And the writing. And also the plot.

 

Put simply, author E L James — who is now officially invulnerable to criticism because she has more money than God — is not a very good writer.

 

Her dialogue is stilted, the descriptions of place overwrought, and the characters and plot so predictable that a reader could theoretically skip over several dozen pages of text and still be utterly unsurprised by new developments. (Hey, what do you know? They're having violent sex again. And both appear to feel vaguely conflicted about the violence aspect, but apparently not conflicted enough to actually stop doing it)."

 

If I had not personally read the series myself, I would have found this article to be very informational. Reaves made good use of referencing material directly from the book, and the article was easy and fun to read through.  She kept the review light-hearted and I think she effectively connected with her intended office. According to Reaves, the bottom line is that the series failed to deliver, and while there is a lot of hype around these books, it does not change the fact that the writing is inexcusable.

 

"Anastasia's doubts are no match for the sultry erotic power of Grey's really fabulous hair and his judgmental and controlling eyes (which "blaze" at all times, except when they are glaring sensually).

 

Women have always loved escapist fiction: romantic, erotic or a combination of both. And women — of all ages, orientations and yes, predilections — should absolutely continue to enjoy and even revel in the genre. But regardless of our tastes, I hope we can all agree on this much: We deserve better than this."

 

3. Have you ever heard of a Goldendoodle? Increasingly, "designer dog breeds" are becoming more popular. I purchased a standard Goldendoodle in April of 2013. Fancy (I named her after the amazing Reba McEntire song by the same name) is the product of a Golden Retriever mother and a Standard Poodle father. Fancy was very expensive-and was purchased from a nice local pet store where they assured me that Goldendoodles do not shed. I however, assure you that MY Goldendoodle DOES shed, and I can prove it with the light colored hair tumbleweeds that roll across my dark wood hardwood floor each day.