writing...

It took a long time to decide to realize what my habits are when I have to write. I thought about it for quite a while and for most of that time I figured I didn't have any habits. After thinking about it for awhile I realized I do have some habits. They probably aren't good habits but they are habits. I usually turn on my computer and before I even click on word I usually have iTunes and Facebook open. Computer and Facebook always go hand in hand for me and even if I have a big paper to write I feel the necessity to take a minute out of my work time and check any new updates or messages. I also need music to be able to stay focused on my writing. Like right now my dad is forcing me to stop iTunes so I'm having trouble writing this blog... This may all seem backwards to you... music and Facebook is distracting isn't it? Shouldn't it have an opposite effect? well, for Facebook I'm pretty good about closing out of Facebook as soon as I finish checking all the necessities. And for music if I don't have something constant going on in my head I lose focus before I even start writing.

C'mon Wisconsin!

Last time we had could choose what to post about I talked about how well things were going in Wisconsin sports and I am sad to say well things are not going bad by any means they are not as good as a couple weeks ago. The Badgers are no longer undefeated and the Brewers season was cut short when they were defeated in the MLB playoffs. However the Packers are still undefeated and even though they are losing right now they are going to get the ball back after half time and they should take the lead.
The Badgers lost last night in a horrible game for the Badgers. We were behind the whole game and our senior QB Russel Wilson threw three bad interceptions. We did tie it up with less than a minute left in the game but MSU threw a last second hail marry which was caught and wrestled into the end zone with no time left in the clock.
The Brewers also lost their run for the world series in a 2-4 series loss.For some reason we just couldn't stop the Cardinals bat. They scored four runs in the first inning before the Brewers even had a chance to hit and just kept on scoring.
Lastly the Packers. Yes, they are losing at half time right now but they are about to get the ball back in just a few seconds. I'm not too worried. The Packers never give up and the Vikings have been iffy in the second half losing three games in the second half.

Weekend blog post...

I know, the title is boring. Get over it. I have two assignments today, the first being to create a list of of pet peeves, and the second to respond to a couple things we did during class... so instead of doing two posts in the same day (which would be ridiculous) I'm just going to do both of them in this one blog.

I'm going to start with a list of pet peeves... Why? because it is easier and I am lazy.
1. People who can ace everything they do without trying at all. Example, the American guy in two million minutes who gets a full rid to Purdue for doing well on the PSAT... a test which he said he didn't study for, didn't try that hard on, and was pretty easy...
2. People who are impossible to argue with... Can't stand them
3. Country music... sorry, but the world would be better without another song about tractors.
4. Freakish athletes... they don't actually annoy me... i just get annoyed that I can't be one of them...
5. Museums... Another old thing? cool. I can learn all about it on the internet... now lets do something fun.
6. Viking fans. Vikings suck, just accept that the Packers are and forever will be much, much better.
7. When my projected 20 point WR has 0 points at half time.
I think that's good for now... so now on to responding to the stuff we did in class the last couple days...

First of all, in my opinion, the movie Two Million Minutes is one of the most biased movies ever created. It makes American students seem lazy, dumb, and that every student is living a dream life. I wish. Just because American students are expected to have at least minimal amounts of social skill does not mean we do not work. While Asian students spend a solid 168 hours a week buried in piles of the latest engineering textbooks, they are melting all social skills necessary to succeed in ACTUAL LIFE. Meanwhile, a American student has, in my opinion, a much more balanced schedule. Just for ease I'll share my schedule on an average day. I wake up at 6:30, go to school until 2:20, have football practice until 5:30, eat dinner, do home work until around midnight, then go to bed.
I am not saying the American educational system is perfect. I know first hand it has plenty of flaws. We have a surplus of bad teachers looking for jobs and not enough good teachers who would actually be able to stimulate the educational system.
However poor our educational system may be it angers me to watch such a blatant attack on American students. I think about how much I work and to think that the modern conception of the American student is a lazy, student who does not work hard is very frustrating.

Yea, I'm a Wisconsiner

I'm not actually a Wisconsiner... meaning I never truly lived in Wisconsin except for a month or so right after I was born. However, both my parents grew up in Wisconsin therefore I was raised to be a die hard Wisconsin fan. And, I don't know if you've heard lately, but these past couple weeks have been the best weeks in Wisconsin nation history! I'm talking about sports of course! Every where we turn right now Wisconsin sports teams are tearing it up! 

Off the heals of last years Superbowl XLV victory the Packers are on their way to a repeat. The record 5-0 speaks for it'e self. Unfortunately I haven't been able to go to a Packers game yet but hopefully in the next couple months I'll be able to go watch the wonders of Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the Packers unstoppable offense!

While we're talking about football I might as well talk about the Wisconsin Badgers, also 5-0 heading to a Rose Bowl or hopefully better! Russel Wilson, the senior quarterback in his first year at Wisconsin, is having an insane season so far, and if he keeps playing this way, is definitely heading towards the NFL. Again I haven't been able to say the Badgers play yet but I know for a fact that I'll be able to see them play at least once, and twice if they make the Rose Bowl. 

The icing on the cake in Wisconsin are the Milwaukee Brewers. With an unbelievable line up at the plate, a group of pitchers any team would die for, a bullpen to finish the game off when the pitchers get tired, and a defense that can stop almost everything the pitchers give up, this team is on its way to the world series without a doubt. I have luckily been able to see this dream team in work a couple times already this postseason. Last week in a win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, and yesterday in the win over the St. Louis Cardinals, and from what I've seen, there is no doubt that the Brewers are the best team in the league right now.

Yea, Jealous aren't you. We've got more (good) football than Minnesota could ever dream of, and we've got a world series contending baseball team to top it off. When all of y'all feel like converting just let me know. The Wisconsin nation accepts new fans with open arms!

Obama's Back to School Address

President Barrack Obama's Back to School Address given a couple days ago used many different techniques to help gain and maintain the attention and support of his audience. The first thing Obama did was, as an introduction, have a student from the local high school where the address was given introduce Obama. This is a good use of ethos, even before Obama said a single word. He does this to show to his audience that he really cares and has trust in our generation. Obama also uses a little comedy when he gets on stage by calling the girl who gave the speech, the student government president of the school which hosted Obama's address, Ms. President. This helps lighten the atmosphere before Obama dives into the main content of his speech.

During the address Obama speaks directly to all the students watching him which makes the content of his speech seem more real to us, and not a long boring talk about education. Obama uses mostly short, easy-to-understand syntax which is particularly important in speaking to teenagers. Obama also uses a little repetition and parallelism in a few places, however it is not near as powerful as other speeches including MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech which used repetition, parallelism, and climatic order to a very large extent, and used it well to pump up his crowd.