Entry #6: Bad News and Good News

BAD NEWS:

I thought I should start this blog entry with the bad news first. Unfortunately, this will be my last post on this blog.

Although I will no longer post, I wanted to sincerely say that I have had a great time writing my thoughts on different social issues, sports, and topics on here these past few months and I hope you readers enjoyed it. I find blogging enjoyable because it helps inform people about yourself. It's an easy way to speak out and make your voice be heard. I think that blogs have great power and are extremely significant in politics. It's just another way to put information on the web and hopefully it can help people become more educated.

I have taken blogging on here seriously since I first created it. I made sure to do my blog entries ahead of time and I wanted my blog to be interesting and look cool. It feels great knowing that your blog looks nice and people are interested in what you have to say. Also, I loved putting my thoughts on here to help my audience ultimately learn more.

Believe it or not, I have learned a lot about how to blog from this assignment. It helped me employ rhetoric and it helped me understand what most of the public are interested in. I found that my top post was easily the "Top 10 NBA Championship Contenders..." There are several sports fans out there that I knew loved it because that post got at least 80 more likes than any of my other posts.

Blogging is a great tool in English classes because it can help a student demonstrate his/her understanding of English. For me, this blog helped me realize how I can attract a wider range of viewers and how rhetoric can make your blog a big hit or a flop.

For ENG 102, I think some helpful tips for improving these blog assignments could be making the prompts more vague. The reason I say this is because sometimes when I have to write about certain entries it can be totally different from my other self-generated posts. I think this makes the blog seem less specific and at times, random. However, if the entry prompts were more vague, we may be able to connect what we already write about in our self-generated entries to the prompt and make it more similar.

GOOD NEWS:
Again, I want to end by saying that this will be my last blog entry. However, the good news is that there are still other ways you can contact me on the web!

Follow Me: http://i-love-phoenix.tumblr.com/
Follow Me: https://twitter.com/sameen_qureshi
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NBA Becoming Less Fun to Watch

As you look through the history of the NBA, there have been some really exciting moments. From Tracy McGrady scoring 13 points in 33 seconds to Michael Jordan's game winning jumper. It's always so much fun to watch those close games where the atmosphere is tense and a superstar must rise and win the game. Unfortunately, these close games that are so electrifying to watch are not as common as they once were due to modern "flopping". This term simply defines when a player acts hurt to try and get a foul call and in close games where the time is running out this is becoming more and more common. What happened to the days where superstars would shoot the clutch shot regardless of whether or not they were fouled? Those days when the crowd would erupt from joy? Those days when flopping did not exist and was not practiced as often? Let's show some examples of the modern-day flop:

In the first video the commentator says, "What kind of league are we becoming if that's a flagrant foul?" The commentator asks a brilliant question because honestly, it seems like this league is becoming a league that rewards actors. It saddens me to think about what will happen when Kobe retires. When he retires, the most dominant player and most popular player will be Lebron James. However, Lebron is just not that fun to watch. He doesn't take big shots in crunch time during close games and he flops quite a bit. Now don't quote me wrong, Lebron is definitely one of the most talented players in the game right now but he's just not that fun to watch. Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony have a great future for entertaining NBA viewers but they are not considered as popular and elite as Lebron James. Kobe Bryant has made a name for himself for making big shot after big shot and single-handedly taking over games. Kobe is absolutely unbelievable in crunch time and he knows how to get the crowd going. With the League's new officiating rules and superstars becoming less clutch, it seems as though the NBA will just not be as entertaining as it once was. Here's an example of what will be missed when Kobe Bryant retires from the NBA. 

Entry #5: How I Perceive the Media

Ever since I read the book, 1984, by George Orwell last year, I have become more suspicious and skeptical of the government and how the media impacts our lives. In the novel, Orwell depicts a world where the media is controlled by the government and how the totalitarian government strips humans of their basic rights. Even kids are taught to betray their parents in school if they ever find out important information about their parents.

Although we are obviously not ruled by a totalitarian government in the United States, the media is still designed in a persuasive manner. For example, each news station has a different motive or purpose. Many news channels, like FOX, try to persuade their audience without appearing bias. This works on many people and it's scary to think that some people are brainwashed by whatever they see on T.V.

Since I have been thinking and writing about the media lately, I have begun to realize more about how the media influences us. Smartphones and social media websites are designed in a way that requires users to input information. When you play games on a smartphone, sometimes a message will pop up reading, "Tweet this" or "Connect to Facebook". Additionally, I noticed that after every time you lose in doodle jump it pops up with an advertisement. The objective of "doodle jump" creators is to make money and by sponsoring other corporations, they generate more money. When I watch different television shows, I find advertisements directly related to whatever it is I'm watching. Every application, website, and/or television program has its interior motives which can be displayed in several different forms.

My brother is a great example of how the media affects people. He watches programs like The Colbert Report, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and Real Time with Bill Maher. This may explain why he's a democrat and why he so one-sidedly promotes Obama and the democratic party. There is not one policy that my brother could agree with a Republican on which is not necessarily bad but it does justify the impact of media. In fact, one of the ways presidents get elected is through their online and televised campaigning. Barack Obama has a Facebook page and so do various other successful politicians. And don't you just hate those advertisements that always end with, "Hi, I'm __________ and I approve this message." It is quite evident that the media impacts the people and how they view politics.

Entry #4: Capitalism: A Love Story Offers a Mixture of Emotions (Movie Review)

Film-maker Michael Moore produced the movie Capitalism: A Love Story in late 2009. In the movie, Moore focuses on the financial crisis in the United States and he centers his attention to corporate greed, wall street, unemployment, and foreclosures. Michael Moore does an excellent job of implementing rhetoric in this movie as he uses pathos to appeal to the audience.

Although Moore's opinions and bias are evident he does a great job of trying to convey his thoughts. He uses examples of people losing their jobs and falling victim to corporations like Walmart. The victims of these situations are all interviewed by Moore as they solemnly state their depressing anecdotes. He also shows how corporations gain money from the lives of people and how they profit off of those that die. Near the end of the movie, Moore shows a protest of people who refuse to leave their work space after being laid off. Eventually, they succeed. Michael Moore uses this to end the movie in order to try and convince the audience that if we organize ourselves we can fix the economy. He also starts off the movie by showing a series of armed robberies and then compares the U.S. to the ancient Roman Empire. This immediately grabs the audience's attention. Overall, Michael Moore does a great job employing pathos into his film.

Mr. Moore utilizes logos efficiently as well by logically drawing conclusions. For example, Moore starts by not knowing what the term "derivative" means in banking because most of his audience probably does not know what it means. So by going through the process of figuring out what it means, the audience is also going through the journey. By the end, he shows us logically what derivatives mean and how they affect us.

Finally, Moore's ethos is the one aspect he seems to fail a bit in. He does bring much evidence to his opinions but all of his sources are democratic like the people he interviewed in congress. Also, he uses too much satire in his movie and although it's humorous, it makes him seem less credible. He depicts the world falling apart as President Bush speaks which is clear attack at President Bush and was simply unnecessary. He also concludes the movie by supporting Obama and praising his motives for change. Because of this, Michael Moore's bias is clear and his credibility is hurt.

Despite this one area for improvement, Moore still interests the audience with his typical humor and nonchalant sarcasm. There are times in the movie where you feel sad, angry, hopeful, and happy. Michael Moore's emotional roller coaster, Capitalism: A Love Story, receives in 8/10 from me and is sure to please you.

Miami Heat's 24+ Winning Streak (Best Ever?)

As of March 21, 2013, the Miami Heat are changing history. Miami is on a 24 game winning streak, only trailing behind the Lakers' record set in 1972 of 33 games won. Miami extended their winning streak after a close victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday night. The Heat, led by superstar Lebron James, came back from a 27 point deficit to ultimately win the game. In this post, I want to address whether or not the Miami Heat will beat the Lakers' record and what this streak means to them. Although many people think this 27 point deficit is a sign that the Heat cannot continue their streak, it is entirely possible that the Miami Heat will continue their winning streak and possibly surpass the Lakers in history. The 27 point deficit shows just how amazing they really are and how determined they are to win. If anything, their comeback has made them even more intimidating to the rest of the NBA which brings me to my conclusion that this streak is a great thing for Miami. I personally do not think the Miami Heat will surpass the Lakers' record but I will admit that it is entirely possible. Their games up ahead are against teams with poor records and the only two teams in the remainder of the season that they really need to look out for are the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs. With that being said, the Miami Heat are truly a force to be reckoned with right now and it seems as though no team is able to stop them. This streak is definitely a positive goal for the defending champions. After already winning the championship last year, they want a new challenge and this winning streak is a great goal to try and achieve. Regardless of whether or not the Miami Heat win more than 33 games, it is evident that they have the greatest chance of winning this year's championship.

Assassin's Creed IV is Coming!

Positives:

Above is the new leaked first trailer of Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag. If you watch the trailer several aspects of this new game are revealed. First of all, it seems like we are going to see more naval warfare. In Assassin's Creed III, naval warfare was briefly introduced but the gameplay aboard a ship on the sea was unbelievable. It was by far one of the best components of Assassin's Creed III. The graphics of sailing on the seas were astonishing and the on-board warfare was a thing of beauty for Assassin's Creed fans. In this new game, it appears that the assassin will be placed in a pirate-themed setting which is another plus. The trailer is dark and gloomy which definitely excited me because I am a big pirate fan. If you love the series, Pirates of the Caribbean, I am sure this video game will please you. Additionally, the main character, Edward, seems to be some what of a ladies' man and appears to have some sort of personal background that was not revealed in the trailer. The fact that "Black Beard" stated that even he would not want to know his story makes me want to know Edward's story. It seems intriguing and if Assassin's Creed IV plays its cards right, Edward may just be one of the coolest Assassin's Creed characters. 

Negatives:

From the trailer, there was no indication as to whether or not the climbing of huge buildings was going to be in the game. If it's not, there is a big negative. Assassin's Creed has built popularity for having some of the greatest climbing visuals and gameplay mechanics. Also, the Animus was not mentioned in the trailer which causes me to wonder whether or not the Animus is going to play a role in the game. Assassin's Creed is known for its background story of the Animus and it pleased all fans as it symbolized an ultimate objective. 

Conclusion: 

To conclude this post I would just like to remind the audience that this review is just based off of the trailer. There has not been much information released yet about Assassin's Creed IV but this review was created as a "first thoughts" type of article. With that being said, Assassin's Creed IV's trailer looked awesome and if Ubisoft works hard to please its audience in this game, this could potentially be the game of the year. 

Entry #3: Change of Semesters?

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/02/22/20110222arizona-state-university-shorter-classes.html?nclick_check=1

The Arizona Republic published an interesting article (link above) recently discussing the beginning of shorter classes at Arizona State University. It is made clear that normal classes that schedule in the normal semester will still exist. However, the addition is now half-semester classes with longer individual classes per week. This ensures that all of the same information is learned and is just finished quicker. Students will still have the option of choosing whether or not they want to take shorter classes but the options will remain. One of the reasons ASU recommends taking shorter classes is because if you take shorter classes, it is possible to graduate in three years instead of four.

The author of this article, Anne Ryman did a great job in constructing the article. The research was correct and her use of rhetoric was effective. She made sure to present why shorter classes would not be recommended and why it would be recommended while quoting her sources rather than revealing her own opinion. This shows non-bias and trustworthy reporting.

As for the actual topic, many comments listed below in the comment selection are negative while others are positive. Personally, I believe that ASU is doing a great job by introducing shorter semester classes. This allows for students and faculty to have flexible options and consider different time frames. Also, the same amount of material is learned regardless of which type of class is chosen by the student. Because of this, ASU's move to open half-semester classes can definitely be positive and efficient for students and staff.