Christianity and the Survival of Creation

I have a lot of mixed emotions when it comes to religion. When I was younger my family went to church but stopped until I was in the sixth grade. We attended the same church until the end of my freshman year of highschool and leaving that church was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. But it was something that had to be done. The church was filled with people who were teaching the preachings of the bible but doing ungodly things. While my family has since moved on and started attending another church I can not bring myself to become close to people only to have to leave them again.

Everything that happened while attending that church was made me question everything about religion and church . That is why I agree with Berry when he says that you do not have to go to church to believe in God. While I do not go to church on a regular basis I still believe in God with my whole heart. Berry also critizes christians who have not read the Bible to its full extent. I am one of those people. I have tried to read the Bible but just do not find it to be that interesting. I guess you just have to have devotion. But Berry is very hipocritical because he says he has not even read it all the way through.

The Argument Culture

I do not really agree with the author in this essay. I believe that there are two sides to everything and that is how it always will be. Opinions is not something that Americans just invented one day. Since the very first people on Earth have been alive I am sure there has been conflicts of opinion. While there are people at total opposite ends of the argument, there is normally some in the middle who are willing for a little more compromise than others but this does not make them less ignorant or argumentitive than the ones who completely agree or the people who disagree.

Another thing I disagree with is that increasing technology has isolated us in a bubble. I believe that while communication might not be as personal it has done far from isolate. The advances in technology has helped us reach out to others in different cities, states, and countries. How has this isolation?

I am not disputing the fact that some may take their opinions to the extreme as to lie and decieve others in order to gain popularity or to bring more people to their side of the argument. I just believe that a conflict of opinion is something that has always been there and is not something that has just evolved as time has gone by. People will forever find something to disagree about and that is human nature.

Its Time to Ban Handguns

I did not agree with this essay. Yes I believe guns can hurt people but I believe it is how a person uses a gun that is what a lot of people have a problem with. I think that even if there was a ban on handguns that a person who wanted one badly enough would find what they wanted anyway. And if the people who wanted a gun for protection but the guns were illegal the only people who would have the guns would be the criminals; exactly the people who should not have them in the first place.
The author had very valid points and some which I agreed with, such as harsher punishment for gun crimes and stricter laws on gun possession, but I think that he was only looking at one side. What Lance Morrow wants is a ban on handguns so if this was to happen all police officers would have to carry around rifles. To me that sounds crazy! Please tell me how a police officer is supposed to chase someone down if they have this huge rifle to worry about. I just do not believe that a ban on handguns would solve any of the problems Morrow mentioned. I think that it would led to more illegal acts since everyone who owned one would be breaking the law.

Leave No Child Inside

I actually enjoyed reading this essay because it was something that I completely agreed with. Everywhere I look there is a new strip mall being built even though half of the ones that are built still have empty space. Right now as we speak the Amazon Rain Forest is being destroyed at one and a half acres a minute. For what? A few more shops, restaurants, or movie theaters? I think that the movtives people have for tearing down our trees.

It seems now that all kids want to do is sit around inside to play on the computer or some kind of video game. When I was young my brother and I would play outside with all the kids from all over the neighborhood. Now when I am outside I never see any children outside. Kids are becoming so unactive and are becoming unhealthy. Even some of my younger cousins are very big for their age. All they do is sit in front of the t.v. or computer and when my aunt and uncle tell them to go out they pitch a fit and scream until their parents gave in. I find it very sad.

In Defense of Talk Shows

I personally hate these types of talk shows. I think that they exploit people who are in a bad situation and humiliate them. But at the same time I do not understand why these people would put themselves through all of that humiliation. I agree with Barbara Ehrenreich when she states that the people who appear on these talk shows "mistake being at the center of attention for being actually loved and respected" (Reid 360). I know that whenever I have seen these shows I always ask myself why would these people want to be on here. They must know that no one really feels bad for them, that the only reason why the audience is cheering for them is so they keep entertainment going. I do not really think that the TV producers really want to help these people because honestly, who would want to hear a normal person talk about the problems that we all share? The producers know what makes money and that is defiantly not it. I might be making a generalization but the majority of producers are only looking out for their own best interest.

The Whole Horse

The beginning of this essay reminded me of one I had read last year in my English class. I am not a hundred percent sure of the title but I know that the word horse was in there which I thought was a kind of funny since these two were so alike. They both dealt with the fact that people are never happy with what they have and we are such a materialistic society as a whole. I must admit I like new things and spend money on things that I do not necessarily need but I know that there are limits.
But I could not even tell you what the rest of this essay was about. It is one of the worst thing I have read in a while. I could not keep my mind on what I was reading and would find my mind wandering and thinking about everything BUT the essay. All I know now after "reading" this essay is that it was very boring and I have absolutely no idea what it was really about.

Attack of Killer Cats

The one complaint I have are the comments that were written on the side of the essay. I found them to be very distracting. Every time I would turn the page my eyes would immediately go to the comments and I would just be jumping around the essay and would have to go back and reread. Other than that I thought that this essay was really funny. The humor that Jaroff brought to the essay seemed to lighten the mood. Normally investigating essays are very boring and straight to the point escpecially since they contain so many facts but Attack of the Killer Cats, while giving you all the statistics, was fun and easy to read. While I did not really understand why this was the choice of topic and found it to be very random it was still a very well written essay.

Reid 311-315

I agree with Stephen King when he says people enjoy horro movies because they like the escape reality and prove that they are not afraid of evil. I also agree with him when he says that people enjoy horror movies because it show us what people are really capable of. Stephen King also believes that a person has to be mentally ill to some extent to want to subject themselves to violence in horror movies. I especially enjoyed reading how even the youngest in society are affected by the violence in horror movies. He writes about an instance in which he overheard a young boy say "whats the difference between a truck load of bowling balls and a truck load of dead babies? You cant unload the bowling balls with a pitchfork." It is funny how such a joke can arouse us to smile or mockingly grin despite what the really means and who it came from. King brings up another great point when he mentions that mythic horror films appeal to all the worst within us. I also find interesting that King mostly enjoys the more gruesome and more vivid films. It lets us see that King includes himself within the same crowd that must be mentally ill to want to see the horro movies.

Once More to the Lake

This has been by far my favorite reading that we have done so far. E.B. White is an amazing writer and I have enjoyed reading many of his other writings. This was a wonderful example of a remembering essay. While I was reading this I could picture the calm lake and the beautiful forest that surrounded him. And you can practically see the mans son sneaking out the front door in the early morning to go walking through the forest that had once captivated his father.

"It is strange how much you can remember about places like that once you allow your mind to return into the grooves that lead back." This is one of the most powerful statements I have ever heard. It shows just how powerful memory is. While I was reading this I was picturing the woods and the cabin that I stayed in this summer in North Carolina and I was amazed at how many small details I remembered.

Remembering

I believe that the key to great writing is to captivate that audience by personal experience. I will always remember a piece of writing more if the author wrote about a experience that he or she went through that I had also experience. I agree with the author that in a remembering essay "you must recreate each image and scene.."(161) because since the reader was not there you can not just tell them, you must show them. I agree with statement that you have to know who your audience is and to make sure are writing to them. I also agree that dialogue should be a big part of a remembering essay. But one thing that I do not agree with is that you should read a remembering essay any differently than any other piece of writting.

Walking On

I have read some of Thoreau's other writtings and liked them but this reading was a little to extreme. While I do believe that some wildlife should be preserved, this world that we are living in is growing rapidly and we need the room to expand. Preserving every tree would be pointless. The one thing I do completely agree with that Thoreau says is that people just eat to eat. Obseity is a topic that does not get much publicity even though it is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. especially. I think that not only writters but anyone in any kind of spotlight need to be promoting healthy eating and a more healty lifestyle.

How to Mark a Book

Before I start I have to say that I used to be one of those people who did not really agree with marking in a book and still do not completely. I understand if it is a text book or some material that you are using to learn from but not fiction. I know that when I chose a book to read for my own personal enjoyment I do not sit there with a pencil and analyze the things the author has written or to contradict the things they have to stay. But as I start having to use my text books my often I do find it helpful to make small comments on the side of the page or to underline things that I believe will be benifcial to me later. I thought that list of ways to mark your book was helpful. Having a different way to mark parts in the book depending on how you felt about a specific part would make it easier to remember why exactly you marked that part. But I did not agree with the statement about telling a friend who asked to borrow a book. Alot of times me and my friends will buy books and just pass them around. I do not see why it would create a problem for a friend to borrow a book.

Shitty First Drafts

While reading this essay I felt a little lost, the writter would often steer way off course and start to talk about some things that we not really that necessary. It was contradicting in some parts. But as I started reading the things the author was saying became a little more clear and I began to understand what Lamott was talking about. I know that for me the hardest part of any writting is the beginning, so I think the authors advice that the "first draft is the childs draft"(75)
and that you should just write anything that comes to your mind is very helpful. She told us that it is ok for the first draft to be a complete disaster and everyone (except on person) has the same problem. Lamott also says that ....you need to start anywhere (77) which is my problem. I am always so focused on writting the whole paper at once that I dont just stop and focus on the beginning. I believe I will make more of an effort to put her advice to use.