Solar Flare!

     This article was scientific article about a recent solar flare, which created quite a commotion due to the inconveniences we faced in communication and transportation. They mentioned the sheer size of the radiation waves that impacted Earth by describing it as a, "cosmic tsunami of energy, in the form of charged particles, radio static and X-rays, across the 93 million miles to Earth."  The flare interrupted global positioning systems as well as airplane communications, and to avoid this, the airlines intentionally avoided locations where radiation levels were high as well as fling low to reduce the level of radiation. I found it interesting that the radiation levels were so high, but there isn't really much worry at the moment. I also  found it interesting that this happens thousands of times, and that this news article was written due to the size of the flare.
This article was written by two authors, Robert Lee Hotz and Doug Cameron. I found it peculiar when i read the word Hotz, but they both have written many articles for the Wall Street journal. As for a rhetorical analysis on the article, I found the external sources to be most interesting. There were many links to videos and pictures of the flares which increased just how they looked and it really helped with the imagery and increased the interest level of the article as a whole. The authors use Quotes from scientists as well as examples of what the companies did to account for the discrepencies of the level of radiation, but I feel that if they had included just how, " the charged particles can cause computer glitches or temporary control malfunctions aboard some of the 860 or so satellites orbiting Earth", it would increase the level of pathos because it shows they understand what relevance it has to the current topic as well as increase audience's knowledge on the subject as well. Besides that, the most alarming thing in the article was by far the mention of radiation shelters, and how the flares were only going to get bigger when nearing the solar maximum, which wasn't really explained either.

Joe Paterno died?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/2012/01/22/gIQAgZ3uJQ_story.html

This was found on the Washington post, where a student journalist's Twitter post suggested that Joe Paterno had succumbed to Lung Cancer on Saturday night. However, it seems that he died 14 hours after some major sources of media had already declared him dead. This describes the parroting nature of the media in present day, where information can be easily found but may not be accurate. Twitter, facebook, etc are sites where daily news are posted, and one of the easiest way to spread information. People reposted this post without checking to see if it was true, or valid for that matter. He was thought to be dead on saturday night, but died on sunday morning.
The story itself may be sad, but it does describe just how much power the internet held in terms of spreading information from one to another. It also describes just how dangerous a tool this could be if it was used wrongly, like in the case of Joe Paterno. This goes to show that it is crucial to check the background of all information from trustworthy sites, though in this case, many news sites had this issue. Information travels fast, in this case, a bit too fast. The moral is that don't trust the internet with a valid source.
The news was posted on Washington Post, and written by Paul Farhi who is a reporter for them. He has written many articles from 2011, and a few from 2012. The writer first describes the situation on what has happened, and follows with a background check as well as quotes from many people, such as the CBS Sport, who were the ones that posted in the Daily Beast, Managing Editor, Mark Swanson. They are witnesses of the event and had some type of correlation to it. He ends with the fact that someone resigned to bring out sympathy, for his wrong and the punishment he's given himself as well.

Reflection #3

This past semester has been a huge eye opener in terms of political terms such as freedom, independence and society. It reminded me a lot of the nationalism times during history when it was sorely needed.  We looked at the Declaration of Independence, as well as speeches from famous historical figures, Presidents like Abraham and Kennedy, and civil right activists like Stanton and MLK Jr. This unit has been all about how language is used to deliver obligations to the people to improve society from their view points. It is the duty of all those who spoke in front of an audience to convince them that the actions that they take are for the betterment of society. The big correlation in the readings that were chosen for the marking period is that they are all from times of need where something must be done to prevent a negative experience, or cause a positive one. The authors that were chosen may have had discrimination, such as King and Stanton, while others had the responsibility to improve the nation, which would be the presidents we covered. 

 I recall Kennedy's  inaugural address, and ask not what the country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. Such a simple sentence, but a large impact. The rhetoric behind his speech was to ensure a time of peace and unification; he did not ever mention himself in the dialog. He merely goes on about what the citizens of America have as an obligation to fulfill, and passes on the responsibility of the success of his words to the people. And this last line expresses his entire speech; It inspires a nationalistic feeling. We can see that through his use of power and his charisma, he basically handed the torch onto the people. He provided these obligations based on the context of the period after war has ended. His speech on peace helped to fulfill his duty to protect our union.
However, not all speeches were made in peaceful times; King's I have a dream speech was aggressive and wanted to excite the people, not calm them down. He uses a strong sense of pauses and voice to make his speech dramatic and impactful. He was out to save ALL African American from discrimination, and by giving this inspirational speech using his sense of pathos, he had to convince a nation to remove all of this hate. This is not an easy task in any sense, and it helped to bring about freedom and equality of treatment of African Americans. 
The individual's obligation to government is the betterment of society. The government's obligation to the individual is the betterment of his or her life. In a sense, they take are of each other, in a symbiotic relationship. Stanton had to fight for Women's rights, while Abraham fought to preserve the Union. No matter what the issue was, the fact remains that they took up the responsibility and spread their message effectively using rhetoric as their key artillery, regardless of their position. 

A History of God: Last Post

"Human beings cannot endure emptiness and desolation; they will fill the vacuum by creating a new focus of meaning. The idols of fundamentalism are not good substitutes for God; if we are to create a vibrant new faith for the twenty-first century, we should, perhaps, ponder the history of God for some lessons and warnings."

This was the last passage of the book. The remainder of the book was about how religious differs and transcends all rational things, and it is impossible to use it within a religious argument.("Rationalism, they decided, had its uses, especially in such empirical studies as science, medicine and mathematics, but it was not entirely appropriate in the discussion of a God which lay beyond concepts." ) It wasn't written in a way that shows god to be absolute, but it does show that God, if he does exist, cannot be close to anything we can feel through the five senses you are given. The last passage is a great way of wrapping up the book by answering the why does it matter? question, stating that religious beliefs have been around because human beings must find a cause for everything; knowledge, feelings, just any question that we can think of. The book, though very lengthy in terms of history behind each religion, opened my eyes to just how long these beliefs go back to, how they were developed, and why it can be so prevalent even in the technologically advanced society we live in today. I have also grew a profound interest, though I won't put my viewpoint out there, in rationalism vs creationism. (rationalism would be scientific, creationism would be religous) Overall, it was a great book to read, answered many questions that I had about religious beliefs, as well as create new questions that I look for answers through more research. The author wrote clearly and built up to the ending by outlining the history and standards of each religion through the use of religious and historical sources.

A History of God: page 61 - 120

 This section goes into a very deep informational reading about the Koran and Muslims. It started out as a country stuck between two great empires, and was known for being sort of a backwater country, due to it's constant conflict between tribes. However, with Muhammad, the tribes came under one and grew to become a large empire as well. Another interesting fact was that the Koran was transmitted in a way, word by word, line by line, through visions, pictures, and sounds for a full 23 years. That is a ridiculous amount of time to spend, and the Koran is the interpretation of those visions. 

As for rhetoric devices, he uses rediculous amounts of religious figures, up to a points where reading a paragraph becomes difficult if one did not know what each meant. However, she does build up and takes time to give brief explanations right after the first time the word was used, and I try and highlight any that come up to go back if necessary. (It helps that I am reading on a computer) He does not state his own opinions and uses others to prove a thought or belief, though this part is mostly cut and dry information. He backs up his info using quotes and primary documents. As for his language, he does well using complex grammar and sentence structure, and also I believe he uses shorter sentence structure to state facts so the reader does not get too overwhelmed.

Paper mate ad

 This is an ad i saw over break in a magazine, and thought it was hilarious how they advertised this brand of writing utensil. Basically, in the advertisement, there is very small writing on a a person's nail, on top of a sheet full of math equations. The way this was portrayed, the only time one would have to write something on their body is when they need to remember the said information during a time when that info is crucial and external material is not allowed. Therefore, you can assume that the person is a student or test taker who is currently taking a math test, and he must show his work. The way they advertised this writing utensil is unique because it is kind of implying it is easier to cheat with this utensil, and therefore, students would like this more than other utensils. Cheating is not justified in any sense, but it is a common practice among students, and even adults as well. Therefore, though the number of audience this ad appeals to is hidden but very apparent. The direction the company, Papermate, chose is very different from conventional ads, but it is also very difficult to advertise a certain brand of utensils, and this definitely is a great method to do just that.
The company that published this ad, Papermate, is a well known brand of utensils, next to Pentel. The context they published this ad in was the utensil, and what advantages it has over other writing utensils. As for rhetorical devices and such, I guess imagery is a big one, because when someone looks at this ad, he or she would most likely create a simulation in their head where they put the utensil to actual use. Creating that scenario will prove its usefulness to the audience, which will prompt them to then purchase the item. Overall, the ad was very creative for a writing utensil, and also entertaining.