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.