TA: More practice

Another random enthymeme practice
WATCO the ability to ‘chat’ on the internet on a college student’s social capital?
Enthymeme: The ability to chat on the internet reduces the value of a college student’s social capital because chatting on the internet reduces the amount of face-to-face time with friends and makes relationships more impersonal.
Implicit Assumption: Anything that reduces the amount of face-to-face time with friends and makes relationships more impersonal will reduce the value of a college student’s social capital.
Intended Audience: Students who spend more time talking to people on the internet, whether through games or a chat engine, than in real life.

WATCO listening to angry music while in a negative mood on a teenager’s ability to handle his or her emotions.
Enthymeme: Listening to angry music while in a negative mood will help teenagers handle their emotions in a more positive way because listening to angry music will help teenagers work through the anger process faster.
Implicit Assumption: Anything that helps teenagers work through the anger process faster will help teenagers handle their emotions in a more positive way.
Intended Audience: Parents or guardians of teenagers that don’t approve of the music their teenagers are listening to.

RA: Analyzing a picture

So I have a lot of art that I like, but it seems that just because it's a picture doesn't mean it has a WATCO. I was going to do the photograph that's from the Great Depression...the one with the mom and her two kids? However, I thought I'd do a picture you haven't seen before and it's really really gorgeous. Go here if you want to see a larger version. It's an artist's rendition of Vanity, one of the seven deadly sins.

WATCO of someone who is excessively prideful on their perception of the world?
Enthymeme: Someone who is excessively prideful will distort their perception of the world because someone who is excessively prideful will only notice the parts of the world that pertain to themselves and ignore the rest.
Implicit Assumption: Anything that causes people to notice the parts of the world that pertain to themselves and ignore the rest will distort their perception of the world.
Intended Audience: People who like contemplating gorgeous artwork. (It sounds bad, but it's true!) Also for other artists who would notice the small symbols she uses in her drawings.
Ethos: I think her ability as an artist lends to her ethos
Pathos: The color purple, which is often associated with vanity, is the primary color of the picture.
Logos: The peacock tail pattern, the mirror, and the desolate landscape in the background are all familiar symbols that have been associated with vanity before, so it makes for a good argument? Or this might need to be in ethos...

FW: My aspiration in life is pleasure.

I've been playing a game called Sims2. I'm not obsessive, but I'm terribly fond of its textures and..despite it's mundane premise, it's actually quite entertaining. Who knew that playing god was so much fun? It's especially fun to have them set their house on fire. However, this post isn't about my love for flame (which actually scares me in real life).
Everytime I play Sims2, I wonder why life can't be more like a video game. It would be much more simpler. Relationships are easier and can be broken down in 1's and 0's. Even fitness is easier: you work out for a day and you can go from tubby to poster boy for Gold's Gym. I work out and I'm still not skinny. What's wrong with the world?
Also, aspirations in life are easier. From the time of teenage-hood, you're already on your career path and, as long as you know at least 10 friends, you can practically become a CEO! Now, I know 10 people rather well, but none of them are going to help me in my road to be...well, whatever it is I'll be when I graduate. Not only do I not know my own career, but I'm not sure what I aspire to be. My current aspiration is to be able to fit into my pants. I'm sure Sonic the Hedgehog never had to worry about such mundane aspirations.
You know what else? In video games, there's no such thing as PMS. And you get pregnant by calling the stork. How convenient is that?
But no, our lives have to be chaotic, inconvenient, and full of too many choices and possibilities.
I've been asked several times how on earth can I stand playing a game that's like real life. And it's very simple. Because sometimes its the life I wish I had. Complete with heroes who believe in what they fight and a happy ending.

RA: 24-hour fitness

WATCO joining a gym for female college students?
Enthymeme: Joining a gym will increase overall health in any female college student because 24 hour fitness believes in personal trainers.
Assumption: Whatever believes in personal trainers will increase the overall health in any female college students.
Audience: Me
Ethos: The guy was obviously someone who worked at 24-hour fitness and knew what he was doing.
Pathos: Talked about the greatness of a personal trainer...
Logos: He started out with the really expensive deals to make the normal ones sound very cheap by comparison.
Sufficient: Yes, but not succinct. I finally got the information I wanted...almost an hour later.
Typical:
Accurate: I'm sure it was accurate.
Relevant: I just wanted to go in with my friend who was a member of 24 hour fitness and get one of her 3-day passes that she can give to friends. Because of some reason I couldn't understand, they refused to give those to us, and instead after a long deliberation decided we could have a 1 day pass because they were that generous. They next, instead of letting us go work out and go to the class we wanted to go to, led us over to a desk and had us fill out our information and then proceed to tell us about the different plans they had. This would have been nice, since I was looking for a gym at the time, except that most of the plans cost over $100/month, which is way too much for a poor college student to be paying. Most of them included personal trainers that would not only help us work out, but dictate what we should eat in order to lose weight. Now, I'm not a model, but I'd like to think that I'm not so fat that I need a personal trainer telling me what to do. Not for the price they charge anyways. It took them forever to get to a package I would have been remotely interested in, but by that time I felt it was pretty obvious that they were in it for the money and I was really tired of hearing their sales representative talk. So most of their argument wasn't relevant for the audience and it's a pity they didn't notice.

FW: Of love and vampires

During the first week of school I read a trilogy entitled "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer. It was a very good series. Rory, a friend of mine, says the reason this series is so popular with females is because Bella, the main character in the books, is everygirl, and she finds the man of her dreams: Edward, who just happens to be a vampire.
After I read the books, all my friends simply gushed about how wonderful Edward was. My response was that I already had an Edward. Same intense personality, same dislike for the sun. Same intense love for me as Edward had for Bella, and vice-versa.
However, there's the whole "becoming a vampire is an abomination before God and by sheer force of being one damns you". Which is why Edward--in the beginning--doesn't want Bella to fall in love with him...he doesn't want to compromise her ability to get into heaven. Well, they break up, and Bella goes crazy. Then they get back together and figure that the whole "damnation" thing might not actually happen. Hooray, happiness for fictional characters.
However, that's been on my mind all week: Is love worth damnation? Because that's what marrying outside of the church is, right? Not in the sense of fire and brimstone, but a distinct lack of eternal progression, children who aren't raised in the church, marriages that are more likely to not last....so the answer would have to be no, it’s not worth it. Because God comes before everything. We used to make little diagrams in seminary about this. God was the center, family was the second one…and I don’t remember the rest. But God came first. It wasn’t love, unless you count that holy love that he has for us, which has nothing to do with this situation.
But breaking up with my Edward has been the most painful thing I think I’ve ever done. God might give vampires a chance (hypothetically) because they can’t help what they are, just what they choose to do with their undead powers. But if I made the same choice…I think I’d be held accountable for my choices when I knew better.
And in the end, it’ll all be fine because in a few months time will heal everything and I can date close-minded, handsome, ultra-conservative LDS boys. Because that’s what God obviously wants me to do.

Right?

TA: A Modest Proposal

I read this article back in high school and thought it would be a decent article to dissect. You can google “A Modest Proposal” and the article shows up.
WATCO instituting the consumption of children on Ireland’s economy and prosperity?
Enthymeme: Instituting the consumption of children will greatly benefit Ireland’s economy and prosperity because instituting the consumption of children will decrease the burden that poor people are on Ireland’s society.
Assumption: Whatever decreases the burden that poor people are on Ireland’s society also is good for Ireland’s economy and prosperity.
Audience: Anyone who wanted to help Ireland’s economy.
Ethos: He begins the argument with telling of his own personal experiences in Ireland and seeing the poor. It also says he’s “Dr.” Jonathan Swift, which automatically gives him more status than if he was a random citizen.
Pathos: He appeals to greed and logic, but there’s a very distinct lack of any “warmer” emotions.
Logos: He quotes several sources that endorse his ideas.
Sufficient: Yes, he goes into great detail of exactly how each part of a child could be useful to society.
Typical: No, this entire satire has a very atypical argument for trying to get people to get involved in society. Cannibalism is usually not one of the answers put forward as a solution to end all problems.
Accurate: I sincerely doubt anyone would wear clothes made out of baby skin. He probably also made up all his sources. So it’s most likely very inaccurate.
Relevant: Yes

RA1: Analyzing Captain Morgan ad

Go Here for the site with the actual ad (it's a video)

Recently Captain Morgan—a brand of rum sold in the United States—has started up a new ad campaign called the Ultimate Pose-off. Using this successful ad campaign, Captain Morgan hopes to target men— preferably ones who are single and in that “bachelor” stage of life—by creating a contest where men pose in the same way as Captain Morgan.

As per a typical alcohol ad, it's pretty obvious that the ad is focused on the male audience with obligatory pretty girls and an appeal to physical fitness. Despite the fact that the pose of Captain Morgan is standing straight up with one leg up, the commercials treat this pose as something requires a great deal of training, blood, sweat, and tears. Of course, since there is very little fitness actually required for this, it becomes almost a parody for physical fitness and something almost anyone can do. Instead of a normal passive ad, it also is a contest, where people can send themselves doing the Captain Morgan pose, vote on other people's poses, and someone somewhere will win something. And what sums up alcohol better than people doing harmless acts that still compromise dignity?

While this is a rather ineffective ad in the Provo, Utah area, I think it's well known in the circles that actually drink alcohol. I have heard references to this ad in casual conversation, and any ad that can be referred to in casual conversation where all the listeners know the ad is pretty effective.

The most fascinating thing about this ad is that it's an effective argument even though the ad isn't even about consuming liquor, it's about posing as a figure on the bottle. The effects of association, I suppose. Of course, many alcohol ads have nothing to do with how it tastes, which could be considered odd since most food-related products base their ads around taste. However, alcohol isn't about taste, it's about the 'culture' around what one drinks.

A first post

I was disappointed they didn't have the name I usually use for usernames. It was already taken by someone who enjoys writing very angsty poetry. I felt embarrassed for whoever that was...i hope no one ever does a google search for my normal username and finds that and thinks that I wrote that stuff. I can't abide that stuff. =/
So this is a new name for me...it's based on a RP character of mine. A priestess of either light or dark powers, depending on the story or setting. In WoW she's currently a shadowpriest who melts faces. ^_^

However, this blog isn't to be about my exploits on MMORPGS, but it's for a class in my university. I think it's supposed to teach me how to be persuasive, though I could be wrong. That's what it's called though. Persuasive writing, that is, not "though I could be wrong" because who would pay to go to a class called that?

Anyways, this was a post to make sure I can blog correctly. I know, it's pushing the button that says "publish post" but I can be very technologically inept sometimes. I've spent over 6 hours fighting with routers and internet connections in the last week, so I'm under the distinct impression that if something was to not work, it would do that for me. Because I'm special like that.