TOW #20 IRB

Surley You're Joking Mr. Feynman, tells the story of Richard P. Feynman, an eccentirc physics nobel prize winner. Mr. Feynman is a hilarious atomic physicist who has traded work with some of the greats such as Einstien and Bhor along with some other whacky shenanigans. This book is full of different rhetoricl devices that translate Feynman's brillance to the reader. Feynman's main use of rhetorical devices are the ones that transfer his ideas and images to his readers. Feynman utilizes a narritve point of view to give his viewers a storybook point of view. This also gives his readers full understanding of his crazy occurances and conveys the imagrey of his experiences.

TOW #19 The Myth of JFK

http://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2013/11/21/the-myth-of-jfk-n1750185/page/2
President worthy of glorification or political con artist? This rather controversial article seems to want to debate president John F. Kennedy's real role in the mid 20th century. This essay starts off relevant, posing plausible questions and presenting facts, but after the halfway point starts to go off on a rant. This essays good logos supports its argument well but it tears itself down with is condescending tone in the second half of its argument. Derek Hunter, the author of this article, starts his argument with some well researched facts and historical events. Hunter brings to light the fact that JFK was not sure for reelection and the idea that he was not involved in all of the positives that he is traditionally associated with. These are all well supported facts and historical contexts that are all relevant and support his argument; but in the next few paragraphs Hunter's argument takes a turn for the worst. In the second half of his essay, Hunter begins to use slandering and degrading diction which devalues his argument. He starts to use words that are meant to attack the former president calling him things like, "despicable" and a, "fraud." This type of slanted diction makes Hunter seem biased and ignorant which renders his pervious argument less effective. Not only does he attack the president, he also attacks his family, even criticizing the placement of their final resting places. Hunter also fails to recognize a counterargument; the opinion that JFK was in fact a good president that accomplished many things. Hunter's diction renders his argument completely ineffective and his lack of recognition for the good things the president has done makes him seem ill researched and cynial.

IRB Post #3

I am going to be reading "Are You Sure Mr. Fenman " over the next 8 weeks. I enjoy science and hopefully am going to be persuing a career in it someday. I hope to enjoy this book and gain some insight in this feild.

TOW #18 My Zombie Myself

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/arts/television/05zombies.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Dead in the eyes, mouth gaping, with only one goal in mind... surfing the internet. While most of the public would have been convinced that description was that of a zombie, but Chuck Klosterman, the writer of "My Zombie Myself", would argue that the traditional behavior of the zombie and our lifestyle today are one and the same. In this article, Klosterman uses several rhetorical devices to argue that the origin of the zombie's popularity in today's society is rooted in our way of living. In the essay, Klosterman includes several allusions to many different popular movies and television shows such as AMC's "The Walking Dead" and Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight." Firstly, these references stand to engage a younger audience by including examples that are very relavant in todays pop culture. These also prove good examples to support his argument. "The Walking Dead" for example is not only one of the most, if not the most, popular show on television but is also centered around the drama of the zombie apocalypse. This supports his thesis that zombies have penetrated deeply into our social structure. Klosterman also utilizes colloquial language to make his argument more relavant among a younger audience. He will often use slang words and informal phrases to appeal to a younger audience because a large portion of the younger generations have a fascination and obsession with the undead zombies. With his more speculative evidence, Klosterman makes an appeal to logos as well. When he introduces facts and statistics, Klosterman turns his argument that was previously based solely on speculation about zombies relevance in our culture to an argument rooted in fact. In his essay, "My Zombie Myself", Chuck Klosterman argues the origin of society's obsession with zombies. His allusions to popular culture and use of colloquial language engage a younger audience and an appeal to logos provides a factual backing to his argument.  

TOW #17 Anti Suicide poster

http://comunilife.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/COMUNILIFEpsaFINAL01.jpg
This anti suicide poster seems to be pretty black and white but in reality it has several hidden messages under the surface. These hidden messages help it to communicate with people who have family or loved ones of latin decent who are going through a hard time and contemplating suicide. This poster uses several rhetorical devices to prompt action from people hoping to help a loved one in need. The first major rhetorical device this utilizes is juxtaposition. It juxtaposes the girl against the empty, dark background to to create a depressed and unnerving mood and to emphasize the sadness of the girl. It also juxtaposes the text on the page with the girl to make it feel like the words were on top of her, making the feelings of oppression and depression greater. By creating the aura of depression, this picture conveys the pain and sadness that this girl is feeling. This poster also utilizes the first person. All of the text on the image is written in the first person to make the reader feel a personal connection the the girl. The audience now empathizes with the girl in the picture. This picture also has backing in fact. In the text, there is a reference to a statistic from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) stating that "One in seven Latina teenage girls attempt suicide". Not only does the audience feel bad for the girl and was made to feel a connection with them, they now have been faced with a staggering fact from a reputable source. The sadness and depression created by this poster is meant to touch readers and prompt them to reach out to people in their lives in ways that they would not normally consider

TOW #16 The Tao of Pooh post #2

Most of the general public would not readily read a book on philosophy, let alone a book about the philosophy of religion other than the bible. So why is the "The Tao of Pooh" so effective? It doesn't take much to realize that this is quite an outlandish topic, so how was this book able to reach so many people? Benjamin Hoff was very receptive to the fact that not many people are familiar or comfortable with the topic of Taoism, so he wrote his book in a style that would be able to reach the masses. Throughout the entirety of this book, Hoff writes as if he is having a conversation with Pooh bear who is constantly asking questions of him. This is meant to create a casual mood and answer the many questions that the readers may be thinking of. In a book like this, there needs to be a niche to slowly acclimate the audience to its philosophy. Hoff decided to write the majority of the book as a conversation to make the audience more open to its ideals. Sometimes philosophies come off as slow and boring with the author trying to shove his or her ideals down the readers throats, whereas Hoff's book has a more casual atmosphere that makes the audience feel more like they are being talked to rather than lectured. When the audience feels more comfortable they are more apt to accept Hoff's thoughts. What happens when the audience has a question or doesn't understand Hoff's point? The book certainly can't reply to their questions. Well Hoff anticipated this and used Pooh as a vehicle to answer the audiences questions. In his conversations with Pooh, Pooh will often interject with a question about a story that is being told or a question about a conclusion that Hoff came to or even a simple "why?" While it may seem like Hoff is just continuing his conversation with a rather curious bear, he is also simultaneously answering any questions that the audience may have about his teachings. This makes his message even stronger because the audience is not confused about his argument and can comprehend even the most complex of arguments. Hoff utilizes his furry companion to it's fullest to help convey his philosophy to his readers.

TOW# 15 Into the Woods movie review analysis

http://moviepilot.com/reviews/2015/01/11/into-the-woods-movie-review--2-2579570?lt_source=external,manual

This review’s ideas seem to be lost in the woods just like the characters in the movie it critiques. The review discusses Disney’s new movie “Into the Woods”, a story about fairy tale characters that meet together in the forest. While this review tries to praise the movie while still pointing out its flaws, its ideas end up coming off as disjointed and awkward. The review starts of with a little too much praise with using the words “excellently” and “perfect” to describe it’s scenes. These words put the movie on a pedestal that makes it seem untouchable. The idea that the movie is “perfect” makes it seem like it does not deserve to be critiqued, which is just what this article hopes to do. The rest of this articles purpose is squandered not only because it’s language set it up for failure, but also because it’s statements are too condemning that they lose their effectiveness. This review tries to point out these movies flaws but expresses in in ways that make the movie seem unappealing, saying that some scenes “left me [the author] feeling a bit disgusted”. This review also seems to, instead of intelligently phrasing its argument, ends up rambling. This already poorly enacted article, blunders even more when it stats to rant and fully loses the attention of it’s readers. This author also tears down any ethos that it had by stating that they had not seen the play that this movie is based off of. This article tries to present the movie it is reviewing as a good movie with flaws, but ends up presenting itself as bipolar and scatterbrained. The author of article created a review so ineffective that it almost makes the reader want to avoid seeing the movie.