Semiotic Analysis: Cultural Trends

For my semiotic analysis I chose to look at and analyse my cell phone. After looking at my cell phone from a varitey of angles and answering the questions, I learned and discovered many things. I think a cell phone and other types of electronics sums up what our culture has turned into. Cell phones are small, easy to carry around, handle, and use. This small device seems to be attached at our hips and ready whenever we need to whip out a quick text, change our facebook status, or call a freind. Cell phones are basically everything we need--they can hold and take our pictures, email friends, look up and search the internet, direct us when we are loss, and now even purchase thing buy swipping your credit card. Don't get me wrong, not all cell phones are this heavily equipped, but in only a matter of time they probably will be. This small, portable, and durable little device says that our world is lazy and we expect so many things to come to us in two seconds. We have taken advantage of electronics and especially cell phones and expect things to be at the tips of our fingers. We don't know what we would do with out them and sometimes I wonder that we value them too much. Yes they are a great thing to have and have advanced the world we live in, but to a certain extent. I think that cell phones really do say a lot about our world and the things we value.

Political Dimensions of Language..the words presidents use!!

After reading and scanning through many of the presidents we have had throughout the numerous amount of years, I came to the conclusion that many of the presidents used and still use many of the same words. President Obama still uses the most popular word  "Nation" in many of his speeches. Following right behind are the words "Government", "World", "People", and "Peace". In my opinion, most of these presidents chose these words because several of them mean or refere to the same thing. For example, Nation and World are very similar, they may not mean the exact same thing, but they both have a big picture in mind. Maybe this is trying to say that America really has not changed that much over time, we happen to be fighting for the same things just in much different ways. One thing I did seem to notice was the word "Government" was almost always the most popular word used all the way from Washington to Hoover. "Nation" was used, but rarely ever the most popular amoungst them all. It was not until Franklin D. Roosevelt when "Nation" started being the most popular word used (including Obama). This is something that caught my attention and I wonder why this was the case. Overall, this was a very interesting activity to do; I had no idea that these were the words that happened to be used the most in presidential speeches.

How Do I Write!!

Writting is something that people either chose to do or find themselves having to do. Some people find writing to be a chore, while others find the joy in sitting back, taking the time to relax, flipping open a notebook, grabbing and pen, and writing! Some people write a lot, and some people barely write at all. Filling out their name on a piece of paper and answering a few questions could even be a stretch. With all of this in consideration, many people like you and me seem to find ourselves stuck exactly in the middle, not knowing which way we lean towards more.

Writing when not asked, not when the grade depends on it at least, is always much more enjoyable. The stress and preasure to write a flawless paper is no longer and we are now able to sit back, take a breather, and relax. Writing on my own time, at my own pace is something that I love to do; however, when it comes to something that is demanded of, I do not always enjoy it. I feel the preasure  to whip out something marvelous..something that may not even sound like me. Don't get me wrong, I really do love writing, but it seems to me when I am trying to write something to maybe "impress" everyone..it ends up worse!

I write much differntly for different types of work. When I am writing to myself, I do not care what I say or how I sound, I simply just write. Whatever comes to mind and whatever I am thinking, I write it down. I wish when it came to writing formally, a paper for example, that I could do the same. I over think everything and find myself running in cricles, round and round. I type something, delete it, type it agian, and stare at the screen. It is an overwhelming process that I wish I did not have to go through. I wish I could sit back, relax and act like I am writing to myself. I constantly hit dead end after dead end, and right when I get going, I stop.

Taking the pressure off of me while writing might be something good for me to do, I need to stop caring soooo much about what I am saying and how I am saying it and just write. I think the more I write the better I will get at this. And until that day comes, I will continue to stare blankly at the screen wondering what word I should type next!!

Secret Girl By Molly Bruce Jacobs

For my non-fiction book I strolled into the public library and stood infront of the non-fiction books, deciding which one I wanted to read. After staring at them for over ten minutes, I chose Secret Girl, a heart clenching story of mistory child, written by Molly Bruce Jacobs.

Anne, part of the Jacobs family, was born a twin. Anne, however, was born with hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and automatically sent to assisted living houses, hospitals, and specail treatment facilities. Her sisters Molly (Brucie) and Laura (her twin) did not even know she exsisted until they were much older. Anne was abandoned by her family and rarely even visited. She recieved occasional gifts for christmas and her birthday, but Anne had no idea what a true family even was. Her parents failed to even accept her as a child, the most they did for her was pay her monthly fees and make sure she had a place to live. After years and year of passing, Brucie is struggling with her life as well. Never getting along with her mother and suffering from depressing and alcohol abuse, she was at a huge loss in her point of life. Overcoing treament facilites, attending AA meetings, and trying to prove to everyone that she could take control of her life agian, Bruice, saught out to meet and truly learn who her long lost sister Anne is.

After months of visiting, taking Anne out to lunch, and eventually letting her come to the house, Brucie and Anne's relationship grew and grew. The Jacobs family did not necessarily aprove of what Bruice was doing, for the biggest excuse they could come up with was.."it is too hard to see Anne and know what we had to do." This did not stop Brucie, she continued to seek out and learn more about Anne. With time Anne was spending nights over at her house and learning what a real family is actually like.

Now this is a very short and brief summary of the book! There is a ton of bits and pieces that are missing that really help throw this book together. I really liked how the author was speaking from her own expeirences and memories for everything she was staring and explainging were things she encounterd. Molly Bruce Jacobs really intigued me throughout the whole book. There really was not a moment where I was bored and found myself wonderig off into another world. She explained everything in great depth and I really could imagine and picture most everything that was happening.

The was she described Anne put a smile across my face. There was never a dull moment in Anne's life, she looked at everything in such a positive manner. Anne thought her family was "on vacation" basically her whole life. Everytime she was visited by Bruice or her family she would ask how the vacation was. This made me sad because her parents did not even have the decency to visit their own daughter. In fact, many parts of this book made me sad. I did not like the way Anne was treated and how she was deglected by her family.

I could go on and on about this book. There is so much that I am leaving out, but it truely was a great story about two girls that really have much more in common then one would think. It was a fast pace read and I really never set it down. I would difintily recommend anyone to read Secret Girl.

The Prevailing Opinion of a Sexual Character Discuessed

Mary Wollstonecraft writes a very challenging and hard to read essay regarding the rights of women and how poorly they are looked upon. Well...that's what I got out of it anyway. Heading into this article, I already had a bad attitude due to the length. I had a very hard time reading this because I often became distracted and quite frankly...the way things were worded was very hard for me to understand. Many of the words I had not heard of before and therefore I was left with many questions.

However, while reading this essay, I discovered that Wollstonecraft was a very opinionated woman and had much to say. She new what she was talking about and often questioned and disagreed with several other intelligent writers. She heavily argued the fact that woman need to be respected and they should not be looked down upon. Others wrote that woman were put on this earth to obey and please men while maintaing an innocent personality and in return women would get stability and protection. This was something that I did not agree with. Wollstonecraft had a numerous amount of great facts and reasons why this is entirely not true. She believed heavily that women were not put on this earth just to serve men and argued for the equality of women.

Wollstonecraft really emphasized the idea that women need to gain the respect and to just be given a chance. I agree with her when she writes, "But, Whether she be loved or neglected, her first wish should be to make herself respectable." I really liked this quote because it made complete sense to me. I think the world has this idea of the ideal "woman" and they look upon us in ways that I, myself, find disgusting.

I was often lost in this article and I found it to be kinda boring and very long, but I did learn some really good things that made me really think about myself and other women that I may know. I really liked the facts that she stated and how opinionated Wollstonecraft was, I just wish the read was easier to understand that way I could have learned a lot more on how to achieve equality in woman. Overall, I guess I would say this was not my favorite article that we have read.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Almost everyone today spends a fraction of their time on the computer, whether it is to type up a paper for homework, email a friend back, to change their facebook status, or maybe all three. However, these things could not be possible without the world wide web...otherwise known as the internet. Most people, like myself, go on the computer with a goal set in mind, though, after just a few minutes, this wonderful, mind boggling invention takes over and our once goal is the last thing on our mind.

Nicholas Carr, the author of this essay, writes how the internet effects our daily lifestyle, the way we think, and even our very own personalities. Carr touches on the fact that many individuals are unable to focus on long stories, novels, and essays. He makes a great point when he writes:

"My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I'd spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That's rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, and begin looking for something else to do."

After reading this statement, I was really able to relate to what was said. There is rarely a time where my focus is spent fully on just one thing. I'm always multi tasking and I seem to always have trouble to just sit down and read like Carr has proposed.

Carr also writes about the invention of the mechanical clock and how instead of listening to our bodies, we now have a man-made schedule that tells us when to wake up, eat lunch or dinner, go to work, and even go to bed. Everything we do is focused on the clock, "We stopped listening to our senses and started obeying the clock" Carr claims.

Besides for the the invention of the clock, Carr writes how media is changing as well. Since our lives so heavily rely on the internet, the way media delivers its information has to change as well. "Television programs add text crawls and pop-ups, magazines and newspapers shorten their articles, introduce capsule summaries, and crowd their pages with easy-to-browse info-snippets" Carr says. If everything were not to be shortened, it would be "less efficient" and pages would just be skipped over.

My favorite quote of all in this reading: "The human brain is just an outdated computer that needs a faster procesor and a bigger hard drive." This is such a great point.

There is something to be said about this article. Nicholas Carr really proves some great points that many individuals like you and me would not realize unless it is thrown at our faces. It's sad to think that everything we do relates back to the internet and the world wide web. We lose ourselves in technology and many of us don't even know who their real self is. We are lost without facebook, and devastated without our phones. It is sad to think about. However, on the flip side, the internet and further technology has advanced our world tremendously and without it, we would not even be close to where we are today. We are not only able to communicate with people around the world, but we are able to invent and create an endless amount of fantastic things.

I personally think we rely on the internet and other technologies too much, and should try to take a step back and focus on other important things.

Skunk Dreams

Louise Erdrich writes from The Georgia Review a fasinating, yet unique and slightly confusing piece called "Skunk Dreams."

As i read the title "Skunk Dreams", I couldn't help to think that this was going to be just another stupid little article about skunks and the dreams that they have, however, as I started adventuring through, my assumption was quickly proven wrong. Erdrich starts the article in a very interesting way explaining how she was sleeping on a football field under the beautiful spring North Dakota night, when a skunk suddenly sat down and slept right next to her. Terrified at first, Erdrich did not move a muscle. Though within moments, she describes how she becomes relaxed and her mind drifts, beginning to wonder if skunks have dreams as humans do.

As the story progresses, Eldrich has a detailed dream of a fence, fully grown trees, an elk, and much more. I became very intrigued and actually thought more to myself the dreams animals might have and if they relate to human dreams in any sort of way.  

Eldrich moves out of North Dakota and into New Hampshire where she has forgotten about her dream. At first she does not like New Hampshire. She explains how she has become "urbanzied and sedentary." "The woods seemed bogus"--she writes. "The sky small and oddly lit, as if by an electric bulb." However, after a few years of living in the contry, she finally realizes that to "get outside" is not a fifteen minute car ride, it is simply right infront of her very own eyes.

Eldrich soon begins to adventure outside, and she realizes that she becomes fasinated with the scenery and especially the wind. She takes a stroll into the woods and finds trees everywhere, big ones and small ones. She finds  X wire, elk, and even a fence. Just like her dream. She wanted to get inside and explore with the animals. Overcome that obstacle. Eldrich learns that this is a hunting club and soon finds a gab in the fence to see what lies ahead.

After reading this story, I was a bit confused. I felt as if it jumped around and I often found myself lost in what I was reading. I found the whole story to be very well written, I thought the beginning and the end were very clear, the middle is where I drew confusion. Eldrich overcame her obstacles and makes a great point when she writes "Without obstacles, the notion of developmetn is inconveivable." This quote made me really think, and try to place it into my very own life.

Overall, this story was very well writen and made some very good points. I just dont understand exactly what the point of this article was, but hopefully after some discussion with some class mates I will get a better grasp on things.