Self Evaluation

This semester in English 15s has been a enjoyable one for sure. This class has done a great job of opening up the Penn State Community to my eyes. I took this class because it was a requirement to graduate, if I had it my way I would never take an english class in my life. Regardless I did the take the class, and I feel as though I got quite a bit out of it. I often struggled with the 8am start time, and there is no excuse for that, but I always was more happy with myself when i attended class then when i did not. The range of writing in the class was quite wide and I got a lot from that. On my first paper i received a C which was a big shock to me, however i feel as though my level of writing since then has improved dramatically. I feel as though I have made a transition from a writer in high school where everything was planned out and I was directed exactly how to compose every sentence, into more of a free thinker who can go out and write a paper with more of an open mind. In my mind I have improved greatly as a writer through this class and also as an appreciator of the artsGoing to some of the out of class activities like Kiss Me Kate, The Palmer, and The Arboretum were amazing. All of those trips were really able to open my eyes to all there is here at PSU. I am not much of an artistic person, but i have a great appreciation for art and for those who can create beautiful art. This summer i am planning a hiking trip through Wyoming with some friends, I hope to get a camera as Christmas gift this year so that I can take some artistic photos in the beautiful landscape. At the end of the day I can say that this class has had a seriously positive impact on me as a writer and a person. My only regret is my questionable attendance record for going to class always resulted in something positive.

We Still Are

As a penn state student and more importantly as a person I am torn. This past month as the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal has unfolded in front us I have been feeling wide array of emotions. The first thing that came to my mind was a feeling of disgust as i read thru the grand jury report that, in detail, explained all that Sandusky is accused of and I grew infuriated. I want nothing more than to simply kill the man for all that he has done to the poor victims. Next, i felt saddened, for all the victims who were subject to such a systematic rape and were so vulnerable. Where i am emotionally torn is on the issue of coach Paterno and his involvement in the case. At first i felt that the administrators, Shultz and Curely who were aware of the accusations against Sandusky and did nothing to stop his despicable actions were the ones to blame and that Joepa had done his duty in reporting to his superiors. I truly believe in the saying "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" I became defensive for Joepa, this was probably due to the love and admiration that all of us as PSU students feel for coach. I tried to convince myself that Paterno was not in the wrong because he had done what was legally required of him. However this is not just a legal issue, it is one of right and wrong. After speaking to my parents about the entire scandal i came to the sad conclusion that Joepa needed to be fired.This issue reaches farther than just the football program though. It was hard to listen to my parents, who in some ways were skeptical about sending me to Penn State, tell me that i should consider transferring after the semester. It was their belief that "there is a serious lack of ethical character within the adminitration". I never for a second even considered leaving this place that i have grown so in love with in only the few months i have lived here. I can truly say that Happy Valley is a home to me, and that i will defend this university forever. For these reasons I am so distraught with all the negative attention we have received throughout this whole process. This scandal reflects on the entire Penn State community. I watched as students destroyed property and made our school look even more foolish as they emulated every stereotype PSU holds about a party and football school. The press was quick to jump on the case and call our student body stupid, which was deservedly so. However just like Jerry Sandusky it was unfortunate that the stupid actions of a few could bring a bad name about so many. However i was happy to later be a part of the very moving candlelight vigil that was held for the victims. I believe that night brought back a lot of pride to the students and to the school. In the end i am disappointed and very sad that this entire ordeal has occurred, but today I am as proud as ever to be a student here at Penn State. I hope that as a university we choose to not allow this to halter our progress, and that we continue to work to make the world a better place. For the glory…

Kiss Me Kate

Although I am far from being a theater buff, I have been fortunate enough to attend a fairly broad array of live performances. I've seen The Lion King on Broadway which I found incredibly amusing, every year my family attends A Christmas Carrol performed in Pittsburgh as a holiday tradition and I also took a tech theater workshop class for two semesters in high school in which I worked several school performances. In this age of overwhelming technology I believe many people, myself included, do not admire staged shows as much as they deserve. Almost every show I attend I will find myself shocked with how entertained I became. This certainly held true to the Kiss Me Kate show on Saturday. The catchy songs and upbeat humor of the play were absolutely a nice surprise. Kiss Me Kate was very similar to most musicals I have seen, I always am absolutely amazed by the talents of actors in these types of shows. As somebody with limited musical ability I feel that whenever those with such skills are on display i can only help but appreciate it. I think that my favorite musical may have to be West Side Story. It is such a classic and although I have never seen it performed live I think that the story and the great songs are enough to call it one of the best ever. Kiss Me Kate is certainly in a bit different subgenre within musical than West Side Story but obviously the integration of performing songs and acting are a common aspect the shows share. I have never neither read or even heard of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew so I cannot speak to the accuracy of the show, however i very much enjoyed how the play was integrated into the other. I think that the way the writers of Kiss Me Kate were able to follow the plot of Shrew and then to add songs that so perfectly fit into the story was magnificent. Also I felt the switching back and forth between the play within the play and what was actually happening in "real life" in no way took away from the experience, it certainly enhanced it. I really enjoyed the part of the show in which Lilli took Mr. Graham's note behind stage and read it, while at the same time the Shrew played on. The use of the transparent curtain was a very nice addition to the performance. If i could pick one aspect of the show that i enjoyed the most it would easily have to be the humor. I feel as if there is nothing more dull than a live performance that fails to keep the audience interested. For instance, my high school's rendering of The Crucible was easily one of the most excruciatingly painful things I've been forced to sit through.Kiss Me Kate was full of witty one liners and character portrayals like the mob men who kept the audience laughing. All in all I am glad to say that i expected to be a boring, mandated, and Saturday-consuming escapade ended up being a fairly entertaining and culturing experience.

This Penn State Life

My immediate reaction to listening to this podcast certainly not a positive one. As a nationally syndicated radio show i would expect there to be much less anti-student bias in the piece. Although every once in a while you hear an appeal from a member of the community who says that they enjoy being around the "high energy students", the majority of the piece tells about the drunken stupidity of Penn State students. I absolutely cannot deny that these activities occur, they certainly do and i witness them on a weekly basis. However i felt as though the piece did not do a satisfactory job of comparing Penn State and State College to other campuses and surrounding communities across the country. Honestly although some of the stories told, such as students passing out in stranger's homes, are seriously concerning, i feel as though much of the problems that were addressed were common to many college towns.

I believe that the piece had both strong and weak ethos appeal. Certainly the residents of State College who were interviewed were completely credible in their knowledge of how students drinking and other activities affect their day to day lives. They have the right and deserve to be heard because clearly their lives have been seriously affected by all of this. However i felt that there lacked a very serious presence of sober students. It is quite easy to make somebody sound completely ridiculous and stupid while they are heavily under the influence of alcohol which nearly all of the students who were consulted were. The pathos appeal to me as a student was incredibly strong but in a very negative way. With almost every minute that the podcast played i became more and more defensive and infuriated. This may be due to my ties to Greek life which was specifically attacked. I have chosen to participate in the Greek system here at Penn State not only because it gives opportunity to party and act recklessly, but for a variety of reasons. Nowhere in the piece did they address philanthropy or any other aspects that fraternities are involved in. The show did a very strong job of providing statistics and numbers to make its points about how large the party scene is here at Penn State. I felt like the police officers's testimony was particularly effective because nobody would know better then the authorities.

I find the part about McClanahan's General Store very interesting. Im not quite sure about how a testimonial from a store owner and his sales work to define a party school. The idea that Penn State gear selling more when the team is winning is more of common sense than proof that kids love to drink. The point that the store makes condoms readily available tells me only that they are promoting safe sexual practices, something that should be commended, not condemned. Partying is only one aspect of life at Penn State and not what defines our school. The idea of a party school is just subject to a large student population, often with good sports teams. I do not have sufficient data to back up this claim, but with friends at schools of varying sizes I believe that Penn State students do not excessively engage in more drinking than those at schools such as Notre Damn, University of Pittsburgh, or even Duke. I really cannot even deny that i take a pride in our high rank on the list of biggest party schools. Friends of mine at Ohio University have often made notice of their recent takeover of the number one spot. I love my school, regardless of any rankings, and I am so glad to say I am a Penn Stater.

Journal 3-Description

Tucked away, in the back of a strip mall, under an apartment complex there is a cookie store unlike any other I've ever been to. Insomnia Cookies offers fresh, warm, deliciously large treats at almost any hour of the night. I discovered this sweet tooth safe haven one night as i wondered aimlessly in downtown State College. The store itself is lets say, cozy, for lack of a better word. As you walk through a tight door your eyes immediately meet the counter only a few feet away. The small open floor where the line forms is tile similar to that of an ice cream store. Speaking of ice-cream, Insomnia has over 10 flavors with the ability to "build your own ice cream cookie sandwich". This allows the customer to pick two fresh cookies and their favorite flavor of ice cream and combine the three in an amazing late night treat. A cooler sits to the left of the counter offering many cookie complimenting beverages such as a nice cold milk. No matter what time of the night, Insomnia caters to the snake seeker in everyone and is certainly something everybody should experience.

The Vaudeville Act by Everett Shinn. Oil on Canvas, 1902

An oily canvas with covered in shades of reds, greens, and grays depicts an early 20th century theatre where two performers are on stage with an orchestra pit directly beneath where 3 men sit. They appear to be discussing the music that they will play in upcoming scene. The last character depicted in this piece is a man who appears to be apart of the audience, he is turned away from the stage positioning his body and his eyes directly at the viewer of the piece.

I found this piece to be rhetorically interesting for many reasons. Firstly the pure amazing artistic skill is amazing in and of itself. The use of dull gray with the sharper and vibrant reds and greens make for a fantastic visual display. The next thing i found to be interesting was one of the performers on stage. There appears to be a male and a female character however male character seems to be played by another woman. One with red hair very similar to her female counterpart. This could possibly speak to lack of women's rights or it could simply be the style of theatre in this era. If any political statement is being made i would say Shinn is talking more about the entire culture of theatre goers because he depicts not only the stage but the pit and part of the audience. Possibly that these people are less important than they fancy themselves. 

The pathos appeal of this piece is quite interesting. First off this piece makes me very intrigued and wanting to know more. It makes the viewer feel as though you just walked into the performance with no prior knowledge about what is happening on stage. The view of the painting makes it seem as though the viewer is standing in aisle rather than sitting is a seat. The setting appears to be high class as if the artist wants the viewer to feel out of place in this theatre. 

I believe that the first thing that gives Shinn credibility is this piece is simply the artistic skill that he exhibits. There are so few people that can create such amazing pieces of art such as this one. After some quick research i can see that he has many other famous pieces that depict similar scenes in New York, his home. He also was apart of group of artists called "The Eight" who worked to depict real life as they saw it. 

If believe the claim being made by Shinn in The Vaudeville Act is the life of luxury that some people are living is not as grand as somebody poorer than them may think. In my opinion the viewer is supposed to feel as though he or she just barged into something they were not supposed to see and has now discovered that the life of the privileged is much more dull than it appeared. 

My overall experience at the Palmer was very positive. I really enjoyed all the wonderful pieces and feel that i need more exposure to art in my life. I certainly can imagine myself going back because it was just an enjoyable experience. As somebody with merely no artistic ability i become so fascinated with those who have so much talent.

Journal 1 supplement

Because i forgot to include the art in my last post i felt i needed to supplement it with this post. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVk1HOlkq_o This is a hyperlink to a video for the song "Levels" by avicii. I came across this song this summer on a music blog and immediately fell in love with it. Although not everybody appreciates this type of music I believe this song is "art" because it is pure creation. It is something i wish i were capable of creating. I challenge anybody to listen to this song and not feel the urge to dance.

Journal Response 1

Hello and welcome to my blog, Thank you for coming.

As i reflected on my past experiences as a writer i began to think about my experience through high school. However the more i thought about this part of my academic career i dove deeper into my past. Thinking back to the days of jr. high and even elementary school i can see how where my current strengths and weaknesses developed. Creativity has always been an area of concern, not only in writing but in many other aspects of my life. I've always considered myself to be more of a math and science kind of person other than english. Thats not to say that i did not enjoy the english courses that i have taken though. Thanks to some of my favorite teachers and an exposure to some great literature english very much grew on me in the 11th and 12th grade. One of the writing styles that i enjoyed in particular trying to emulate was that of Ernest Hemingway. I really took to the irony and certain comedic sense that he wrote with and feel that it was a type of writing i could get used to. Some of the writing styles i tend to struggle with are those with more artistic feeling such as poetry or pose. This is just do to the nature of my lack of creativity. When it comes to the actual conventions of writing i believe i have a very strong foundation in at least the most basic level. My high school emphasized greatly how to structure and format all kinds of academic writing. Everyone in my graduating class was even presented a little booklet from the english department to be use to help us with college writings. Many of my weaknesses in writing lie in organization and time management. This is something that i will certain have to work on here at Penn State. I often found myself up all night working until the start of school whenever a large assignment was due. Procrastination will most likely be the end of me. I am so easily taken off of track when i know that there is work to be done. However i almost always was pleased with the grades i received and although i was left tired for the next day i experienced the greatest feeling of relief. I believe that this course will help me to write in a way that is different from the simple analytical style that followed reading a novel that i have been so accustomed to in high school. I think that i will possibly grow in the artistic sense that i have lacked so much up until this point. I look forward to learning a lot from this class and growing as a writer in next semester.