Writing process comparison

Yea I know it's rough...

My final draft on National Service

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rQqQcNbFZFzsa58Mm9rpKRx4_hsBjLgh0H_36mr_YZM/edit

enjoy

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bTEJrPsUEvbmGg_P13VJ8Q0SphfgfCb1TIqJnPbLYP0/edit

My paper so far.

What is Reality?

Trying to explain reality is like trying to explain the color blue. You know its blue and everyone else agrees its blue, but how do you know others see blue the way you do.

Reality is commonly defined as a thing that is actually experienced or seen. The vagueness of this definition shows the openness of what reality really is.

 How do I know that everything around me is not a working part of my imagination, or better yet, how do you know that I am not a figment of yours? This uncertainty means there is no true definition of what reality is. 

Just like we all agree on the color blue being blue, it can be generally concurred that what reality is a collection of ideas that the vast majority of creatures (in our case humans) believe to be true based upon discovered facts or experiences.

There's a Reason the Milk is in the Back

Grocery stores are supreme examples of organization. This is not because everything is neatly stacked on shelves for you to pick up, but for the logic behind the placement of said items. The produce section and bakery are often placed near the entrance to a store in order to welcome a shopper into the building with the sights and smells of fresh food. The sense of freshness persuades the customer to spend time in these sections, often picking up items along the way, before continuing through their shopping list. Items that are bought the most often, like milk, bread and eggs, are usually placed in the back of the store so a shopper must go through everything else in order to get to them. Foods such as cookies and candy are often placed on lower shelves because of their appeal to children who could then see them more easily. While grocery stores use organization to place similar items together, they also use organization through product placement to promote you to buy more than you intended. Take a look next time you go grocery shopping and see what unexpected things find a way into your cart.

The statue outside of the chemistry lab.

I honestly just now figured out what the subject of this statue is while photographing it.

For my entire first year at Clemson I thought that this was just a randomly placed abstract statue. First it seemed to be shaped like some kind of dancer. Later and from different angles the statue looked like some sort of deer (I always thought of Rudolph). This is supported by the statue having four "legs" and the protrusion from the top kind of looks like antlers.

 



Now I realized by looking at its surroundings, the chemistry lab, that this statue is not of a deer but of a microscope. The "antlers become the eyepiece, the "legs" become the base, and finally Rudolf's big nose is the objective lens. A microscope is a commonly used symbol for science and by creating an abstract version of an important aspect of science the artist has conveyed two different messages. Science can be beautiful, and different people can "see" things in different ways.

Two questions to ask.

How would a required national service affect the moral of American citizens?

How has a required national service been implemented in the past?

This website looks terrible.

http://www.www.blackbelttv.com/

blackbelttv.com is a website full of advertisements and non-working functions. At the center of the screen is a black box that appears to house an embedded video, but if one tries to press play nothing happens (there is no video just an image of a play button). The website itself also does not state its purpose other than to provide multiple advertisements for (mostly) different martial arts companies and foundations.

Just beautiful.

http://www.apple.com/

I'm not an fan of Macs or iphones, but apple does an amazing job at conveying their company's image through their website. The first thing you notice is an image of an apple product set on a white background which matches the negative space bordering the website itself. This gives off a sense of cleanliness that Apple uses to show their high standards for their projects. There are links to different products and advertisements all relating to Apple at the bottom of the page. These are all compartmentalized into their own space and provide a title along with a picture so the viewer has an idea of what they are going to. across the top of the website is a tab bar that contains links to the Apple.com homepage, a store, support, a search function, and links to information about Apples premier products and services. Apple takes steps to show its beliefs in professionalism and precision on its website just like they does with their products.

Looking at the cover of this National Geographic, one sees the image of tribal people pulling on ropes attached to an Easter Island statue, or moai. The article focuses on culture surrounding the island, both from the past and in the modern world. The mystery of how the Rapanui moved the enormous moai without the use of livestock or or wheels is addressed with a new theory, devised by Carl Lipo and Terry Hunt, that supports the claims of the natives; "The statues walked." (Bloch, 43) This new theory, depicted on the cover, is radically different than previous ideas that focused on using tree trunks in various ways to slide the giant statues to  various parts of the island. The Lipo-Hunt theory suggests that three small teams of people could move the statue in a walking motion. 'Fat bellies tilted them forward, and a D-shaped base allowed handlers to roll and rock them side to side." (Bloch, 47) This theory has been tested proving that 18 people could successfully move a 10 foot tall moai using this method. The text directly relates to the cover image by showing a small group Rapanui moving one of the statues in this method. The faces of the Rapanui in the image convey the sense of pride that is found within their decedents today.


Source:

Bloch, Hannah. "If They Could Only Talk." National Geographic July (2012): 31-49. Print.

Perlmutter, Amos. Military and Politics in Israel: Nation-building and Role Expansion. New York: F. A. Praeger, 1969. Print.

This first source gives insight into the civilian-military relations within Israel, a country well known for its use of mandatory national service.

Watson, Cynthia Ann. U.S. Military Service: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2007. Print.

This second source provides information about the United States military; including the draft and more current military situations

This is a quick five minute freewrite based upon a single topic.

Mandating 2 years of national service for the general population.

In today's world the importance of patriotism and service is quickly diminishing. by instituting a mandatory 2 years of service to ones country can help to reestablish these ideals in the general population. At the age of 18 a person would be required to join either the military or a government run humanitarian organization where they will work for the next two years. Requirements as to which service a person should join could be based on health conditions, and religious beliefs. There could be an exception made to students who will get to postpone their government service until their education is completed. This applies to both high school and college students.

Time.

A mindmap of potential research topics

Here is the link to a larger view of my mindmap - https://bubbl.us/?h=103d28/1ee3ee/10aC874CH73Hw

Does it Suck?

So each one of the following things is supposed to suck for one some reason.



Here's Why. ( Some commentary has been added to relate my personal experiences)


The republican elephant sucks. - Because they are fat and greedy, the elephant is a terrible symbol of one of one of our nations leading political parties

Barack Obama sucks. - One word, Obamacare.

Harry Potter sucks. - Everyone knows that Twilight is better. (That was an attempt at sarcasm) Harry Potter is a story where everything turns out happy for the main characters in the end.

Apple sucks. - Many of their products are designed to break after a fixed period of time. ( I have to get a    new ipod classic every 2 1/2 years)

Star Wars sucks. - While the ORIGINAL trilogy amazing, the constant 'updates' made to them by George Lucas and the existence of the prequels (read episode I) have completely tarnished the brand beyond recovery

Facebook sucks. - Go talk to your friends in real life.       AND stop inviting me to play ridiculous games like  Farmville.

McDonald's sucks. - McDonald's is unhealthy, unappetizing fast food (except their fries) that makes people  fat.

Clemson University sucks. - The university is over 100 years old and still has a pet rock.

Lady Gaga sucks. - She is just trying to be the next Madonna. (Who also sucks)

Justin Bieber sucks. - He is "man" with a ladies perfume line.

Sudoku sucks. - There are so many tiny numbers.

Avatar sucks. - Avatar is just Pocahontas with Blue animals. (The protagonist is also a furry)

Xbox 360 sucks. - Playstation is better in every way. (I just rediscovered Final Fantasy VII this week)

American Idol sucks. - No artists coming off of winning the show continued on to lead successful singing a a careers.

Glee sucks. - Glee has ruined many classic songs.

Smoking sucks. - There are very few benefits to smoking other than lowering your risk of needing knee replacement surgery apparently.

German guns suck. - They helped arm the Nazis in World War II.

Abortion sucks. - It's murder.

*The fact that children are magically being turned into dogs on the street sucks.
 - Peoples loved ones are being turned into filthy animals. (This happened to my cousin and we had to put her down)a a a                                                         

But seriously, Clothes on dogs suck. - It is degrading and serves no purpose to most non hairless dogs.
(Exceptions are booties and doggles which have real world uses.)

                                  

My writing process.

Sadly my writing process almost always starts the same way, a single idea followed by crippling procrastination. At most times I find it difficult to write continuously on a subject unless it is something that truly interests me. This difficulty has led me to many last minute scrambles to produce an acceptable paper that I can turn in later that morning when class starts. Occasionally, I will get an opportunity to write about something I enjoy and that is when the ink really starts to flow. At these times writing seems blissful. My writing process usually starts by selecting a subject and taking the time to think about many different aspects about it. During this time my observations can range from the literal, to the completely impractical. After I feel like I have come to an understanding with my subject I sit down and begin to write whatever I am planning to write. In regards to where I work best, I like to work somewhere free of distractions. I am just as comfortable writing outside as I am writing in my room with headphones in and music playing while a college party takes place a floor below me (last night and they had fireworks). When I sit down to work, I try my best to complete the most that I can before I stop to do something else. While it is always good to stop and come back to something later, I prefer to try my best to keep my focused during a single period of time. The process of writing is a constantly evolving event with no truly clear-cut procedure. What works with one essay does not necessarily help with another paper or report. While often difficult, writing is always a unique experience, and I enjoy seeing how my thoughts progress when focused on a subject.

• Chocolate
• Broken (but has achieved maximum flavor potential)
• Nestle
• Multilingual
• Peanut butter
• Flaky
• Crispety (crispy)
• Crunchety (crunchy)
• Yellow
• Crystal pattern on wrapper
• Indescribable taste
• 2.1 ounces
• Unhealthy
• Adventurous ( "Dare to log on to Butterfinger.com")
• Long
• Thin
• Only one per package
• Blue writing

Plagiarism is the bane of both creativity and scientific discovery. Copying  another's work does not help develop a new idea or promote growth in an existing one. I believe that plagiarism is a lazy way out of doing one's work and the act of plagiarism deserves to be punished. While some of the 'greatest' minds in history like Sir Isaac Newton and Thomas Edison, blatantly plagiarized many of their greatest works, there is no long term benefit for either the individual or humanity for stealing another person's work. I hereby vow to do everything in my power to avoid committing acts of plagiarism in my work for both my English class and any other professional environments that I may be involved with in the future.

Crocodiles are majestic, powerful, and amazing creatures. These living dinosaurs live at the top of the food chain. A crocodile's hide is made of a thick armor on its back that protects it from danger and the leather of the crocodiles belly is greatly desired by consumers for its exotic qualities. the powerful arms of the crocodile help it to spring out of the water to catch its prey. The crocodile's bite is the strongest bite in the world; it is 12 times stronger than that of a great white shark! The combination of these factors makes the crocodile the apex predator in its natural environment. Without having to fear being hunted by something bigger, the crocodile can enjoy the ability to quietly wait in one location for extended periods of time while waiting for the crocodiles prey to come to it. This waiting makes the crocodile an extremely efficient animal because it only moves when it needs to. By existing for nearly 55 million years, the crocodile proves to be truly the ultimate predator. This living dinosaur deserves to be both admired and feared by all who cross its path.


Crocodiles are ridiculous looking, silly, and lame creatures. The crocodile is an animal that is truly stuck in the stone age. Its short, stubby legs are as useless as they are silly. Most crocodiles actually move in a serpentine like motion when out of the water instead of walking like a normal animal. The crocodiles eyes are bulbous and grotesque looking as well. Crocodiles suffer from terribly protruding teeth on their long snouts. While a crocodiles bite is strong, a baby could hold its mouth closed. The crocodile is also very self-entitled and lazy. Most crocodiles spend their days basking in the sun, and when they are hungry they lay in the water expecting their food to come to them instead of actively pursuing their prey. In conclusion the crocodile's time is up and it needs to learn to work with the fast paced world or it's going to be left with the rest of its dinosaur buddies.