Writing is a Technology: Is the Machine Using Us?

Web 2.0: is the machine using us?
In some cases, the machine does use us. There have been many stories of parents neglecting their children due to their dependence on and addiction to machines, however machines are meant to help us, to automate processes for us. I believe they accomplish this task. It is not the machine that uses us, except in very extreme cases, we use the machine.

Vigorous Verbs that Show, and don't Tell

In John Trimble's book Writing with Style, Trimble dedicates a whole chapter to diction. In it, he makes a point that really speaks to me. Trimble wrote about vigorous verbs, his way of saying show don't tell. This  piece of advice really helped me with my college essay and seems like a necessary fact of writing.

The Beauty of Heineken

Most (if not all) commercials for alcoholic drinks show well-dressed, seemingly affluent young adults having a good time, and this commercial is no exception. In it, a well-dressed woman gives a tour of her walk-in closet filled with fancy looking clothing to a few other women. After getting very excited about the clothes, they abruptly stop screaming when they hear men screaming. The men are in a walk-in refrigerator filled with Heineken beer, and are very excited about it.

The point of the commercial is to instill in the viewer the association of Heineken beer to wealth and beauty. While the commercial does not make the claim that the product will give the consumer wealth and beauty, it does associate those qualities with Heineken, therefore making the viewer more likely to buy their beer.

Hansel and GPS

Traditionally, fairy tales have been used to teach children lessons, such as in the Grimm's Fairy Tales' Hansel and Gretel, which teaches children not to wander from their home. In this commercial, AT&T uses that same classic story to explain why a person should have an AT&T phone, and it uses a scare tactic to accomplish this. The commercial plays off parents' fear and worries over their children by showing the young kids in a bad neighborhood, and the kids are only able to get back to their cottage because they have AT&T GPS.

Hello Ladies, How Are You?

Most commercials have one purpose: to sell a product. Usually that translates to an advertisement showing the consumers' wants and desires being fulfilled if and only if they use or buy the product. This Old Spice commercial, however, is unique in that it does not fit the usual commercial mold. The first thing the spokesman says is "hello ladies," implying that he is speaking directly to women. This contrasts sharply with the intended consumers of the product: men. So why does Old Spice advertise this way?

Old Spice advertises this way because men are more likely to buy this product if they believe that women are attracted to it. The commercial also establishes a woman's dream man, a man who is good looking, adventurous, handy and tough. According to this commercial, a man will become a woman's dream if they use Old Spice body wash.

Focus Free Write: A Painful Glimpse Into My Writing Process

What is your writing process like?

My writing process is nonexistent. First I freeze up. I stare at the page/computer screen for a very long time. Then I give up. After that, I pretend the assignment doesn't exist; I stick my head in the sand, so to speak. In a few days I will realize that the due date is very soon, and churn out very poor rambling writing. I then get a C.

The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

AT&T Hansel and Gretel Commercial: 12 Questions

1. Why are they dropping breadcrumbs?
2. Where are they going?
3. How is this specific to AT&T and not another phone company?
4. What city is this?
5. What does the music convey?
6. Why the Hansel and Gretel story?
7. Who is the target audience?
8. Where were they coming from?
9. Why are they in a modern town but in old-time clothing?
10. Why does the young girl have a cell phone?
11. Why are young kids out when it gets dark?
12. Where are their parents?

Heineken Beer: 12 Questions

1. How can you relate the narrative of the commercial with the product?
2. Why do the men need a refrigerator just for beer?
3. Why are the men so excited?
4. Why aren't the women screaming for Heineken?
5. What does the Heineken commercial say about men and women?
6. Who is the intended audience of this commercial?
7. What language are they speaking?
8. Is the living space new?
9. Are they having a party?
10. Is it new money?
11. Why are the women excited?
12. Did the men get a tour of the new living space?

Fifteen Things That Baseball Players Do

1. Warm up
2. Practice
3. Spit
4. Throw
5. Slide
6. Play Baseball
7. Score
8. Hit home runs
9. Eat
10. Endorse products
11. Interviews
12. Work out
13. Curse
14. Itch
15. Chew tobacco

Thai Pantene Commercial

In my composition class, we watched and wrote about a Thai commercial.
In the commercial, the deaf violinist finds her freedom, her confidence and concentration in a field of wheat. When she gets to this field, she is able to shine in her musical abilities. This, however, is not the main point of the commercial. By the end of the commercial, the viewer realizes that this is an advertisement for Pantene and it becomes apparent that the field of swaying wheat represents and looks like hair, and pretty hair at that. According to the commercial, you too will shine if you use Pantene.

Focus Free Write: John Trimble

Prompt: John Trimble makes the case that all writers are like warriors, defending claims and fortifying arguments. How do you respond to this trope, this figurative turn?

John Trimble states that "all writers are like warriors, defending claims and fortifying arguments." While there may be some exceptions to this analogy, in general this is true. An author's job is to make a point and prove it, and the warrior analogy fits with this. I can picture a writer at his or her computer, with heavy metal armor on. It allows me to see exactly what he means by this.

So here I am at Hofstra and I am blogging. Writing online makes me feel nervous. I don't like writing and I don't feel I am very good at it. I don't like to share my writing with even my closest friends, so this is even more anxiaty-producing since the whole internet ready world can read this. I'm worried about writing in college because I don't feel I can write a two page paper, and most of my classes require 5-7 page papers. I guess I'll have to see what I can do. I do find that I am better when I rewrite though. Now that may not come as a surprise to most people, but I tend to not rewrite mu papers because I don't feel like I can improve it. But apparently I can. This freewriting is really hard for me. I don't have much more to say, but... oh hey! My timer just went off!