In Class Assignment, Kairos and Mark McGwire

This reading is associated with the concept of kairos because Mark McGwire's apology was not expressed at the right moment. The ancient word kairos refers to the right opportune moment or supreme moment. Kairos for Mark McGwire to admit his use of steroids and his apology would have been the moment he was testifying in front of Congress in 2005. Instead, his apology came five years later. Five years later was not the best time for McGwire to admit what he did. This particular scenario of kairos is connected to ethics because Mark McGwire was not portraying ethical behavior. The ethical thing for McGwire to do, besides not taking steroids in the first place, would be to apologize for hiw wrong doingswhen the right opportunity came. McGwire had the right opportunity and he did not take advantage of it. Although he did apologize for his actions a few years later, it would have been "more" ethical if he apologized from the beginning. McGwire's unconfirmed use of steroids has been a scandal for years. I think if he apologized at the right moment, the controversy surrounding him would have died down a lot earlier. Because he brought back the subject of using steroids years after the case, he brought back the controversy to the media.

Out of Class, Taking Stupid Seriously

A major part of the American culture is our American pride. Having pride for your country is a great thing, but having too much of it can be have negative consequences. Having too much pride for your own country can lead people to be ignorant about other countries, or even worse, prejudice towards other countries. The movie, Borat, sheds light on the American people who take their pride too far. The movie portrays Americans who are ignorant and confused by Borat, a man visiting from Kazakhstan, because he is so peculiar compared to Americans. Some people are not used to encountering someone so unusual and different from themselves. The movie contains characters who are unaware of other cultures and society. The ideology of America is the American Dream. People have immigrated from all over the world to come to America to seek opportunity. America is a melting pot. It is a country of diversity, and sometimes Americans can forget this. Sometimes people can become wrapped in their own bubble and become blind to the cultural diversity that actually exists in this country. Borat shows how various Americans, from college students to farmers, can be oblivious to cultures different than their own. Some people are not able to tolerate the flamboyant personality of Borat. His odd character confuses some people. Borat makes fun of the ignorance that can be found in our society. Ignorance and prejudice can be a serious topic but the movie is comical.

In Class Assignment, Trip to the Movies

Going to the movie theater to watch films is one of my favorite things to do. I have many memories throughout my life from trips to the movie theater. One trip to the theater that stands out in my is when I went to see Midnight in Paris. This past summer I was not home that much, probably 5 or 6 nights total, so I did not get to spend much time with my family. One night while I was home, my mom decided to take me, my sister, my aunt, and my two cousins to the movie theater to see Midnight in Paris. One of my cousins just had a baby girl so it was the baby's first trip to the movies. This particular trip to the movies is special to me because we all used to go to the movies together when we were little kids. As we have all grown older, we are rarely available to hang out together like we did when we were children. The night we went to see Midnight in Paris, it reminded me of the good times we all shared growing up. This time we even had a new addition to the family. This trip to the movies was also memorable because we didn't go to the typical theater, we went to the River Oaks theater which is very small and personal and usually plays only independent films. The theater is not modern and huge like most theaters. Going to see a movie with my family is a rare occasion so this trip to the movies with my cousins last summer was a special night.

In Class Assignment, Process for Next Paper

The writing process of my first paper worked out great in some ways and in other ways it needs some major improvements. I think that I wrote down a lot of good field notes for my first paper, but I want to have more field notes for my next paper. The more field notes I have to reference to, the more I will be able to elaborate in my paper. I want to write down more details when I am watching the film I am going to analyze. When I wrote down field notes for the public space paper, I did not write down as many details as I should have so sometimes it was hard for me to add more descriptions into my paper.
Another thing I want to change about my writing process for the next paper is to not make such a long first rough draft. My first rough draft was very long. I received so many great comments and feedback from students. They gave me some valuable ideas that I could add to my paper. But unfortunately my paper was so long that I had a very difficult time trying to add in all the great recommendations that students gave me. I will not write such a long rough draft for my next paper so I will be able to add in a lot more creative ideas as I edit my drafts. Overall, my previous writing experience taught me so much about how to write papers and I will learn from my past mistakes on the first paper on how to improve the writing process for my next paper.

Out of Class, Authors Note to Final Draft

This is my final draft to my paper. I made some revisions from my second draft. I added some more personal experiences throughout the paper.  I thought about writing an entire paragraph about my personal history and background with Barnes and Noble, but I could not figure out where to incorporate the paragraph into the paper. Instead I added my personal anecdotes randomly throughout the paper where I thought they would fit best. To further improve my second draft, I also added some transitional sentences at the beginning and endings of certain paragraphs where I found necessary. When I reread my paper, I realized that my transitions were not strong.

I learned so much about my writing skills when writing the multiple drafts of this paper. This assignment seemed very intimidating. At first, I was terrified at the thought of writing five to seven pages about a public space. I had no idea that I would be able to find so much in Barnes and Noble to write about. Barnes and Noble has so many details that I have never paid attention to. I found it very easy to find many things in Barnes and Noble to write about in my paper. Writing this paper and analyzing a space was a great learning experience because it is something I have never done before.

Out of Class, feedback and revisions on rough draft

After submitting my first rough draft into the workshop last week, I received a lot of helpful feedback from a couple other students in the class.  I knew my first rough draft was only a work in progress and I needed to work a lot more on it, but I was unsure what to fix.  All the comments I received helped me figure out the direction I wanted to go with my paper.  Both students commented that I should add more specific things I see throughout Barnes and Noble.  One student recommended that I go back to Barnes and Noble a few more times to gather some more creative ideas.  I have not had time to go to Barnes and Noble yet so I have not been able to add more details about the bookstore.  I will go to Barnes and Noble before the final draft is due so I will be able to complete my paper better by talking about more features of the space.  I will also add more descriptions and details about what I see at Barnes and Noble.

An important recommendation a student gave me about my essay was that I needed to be more personal.  I knew my rough draft was lacking in personalization.  The student recommended that I should talk about my personal background and history with Barnes and Noble.  In my second rough draft, I have added a few personal stories and memories about certain parts of the store.  I mentioned my favorite part of Barnes and Noble why it is special to me.  But I have not finished adding personal anecdotes to my paper yet.  I also want to add maybe a paragraph about what Barnes and Noble personally means to me but I have not yet decided how or where to incorporate this paragraph into my essay.

Another excellent recommendation by both a student and Mrs. Knudson was that I could write about the people I see in Barnes and Noble.  I have not yet added this into my paper because I need to go to Barnes and Noble to observe the customers and their behavior in the store.

Lastly, I need to add a stronger conclusion. My first rough draft did not even have a conclusion so I need to work on this part.  Conclusions and introduction paragraphs can sometimes be the hardest part of writing an essay.  I have made some revisions to my first rough draft but it is nowhere near complete.  I have plenty of more work to do on this paper.

Out of Class, Authors Note on first rough draft

This is my first rough draft of my public space analysis essay.  I chose to write the assignment on the Barnes and Noble store in the University Park Plaza shopping center.  I like this specific location as opposed to the TCU Barnes and Noble for many reasons.  First, this Barnes and Noble is much larger than the TCU location.  It also offers a much wider range of merchandise.  Also, there is a bigger variety of people that go to the location in the University Park Plaza store because the TCU bookstore mostly attracts students.  This Barnes and Noble location has plenty of interesting things about the space that would be interesting to observe and analyze.

Although I was able to find many interesting details about the space to write about, I feel that writing style is very plain and does not make the Barnes and Noble sound as fascinating as I actually found it to be.  I struggle with creative writing so my paper seems very uniform and boring.  I feel like many of my sentences throughout the paper sound the same because I had a difficult time trying to describe the all the different features of the space in a unique and interesting manner. 

When writing this rough draft, I also struggled with trying to figure out how to order the essay while describing the space.  I started off the description from the parking lot, then entering the store, and then I described everything on the right side of the store, and then everything on the left side of the store.  I wrote about the register last.  I tried to write the essay in order of the spatial organization of the store, but I am unsure if the reader will be able to realize that.

            This essay was a very interesting assignment, unlike any other paper I have written before.  I enjoyed going to Barnes and Noble and paying attention to the minor details of the store.  I have been into Barnes and Noble dozens of times and I have never noticed the details before until I had to analyze the space for this paper.  

In class, arguments of evaluation and obituaries

The obituary of Johnny Cash in the Times online website makes many claims about Cash, the type of man he was, and his influence on the music industry. The article begins by stating that he helped shape modern country music. I agree with this statement because Johny Cash was one of the most popular and unique country music artists of his day. He recorded two of his albums in a prison, which makes him a one of a kind musician.

The obituary also explains that the death of Johnny Cash will be mourned by more than just fans of modern country music. The writer says that Cash’s music appealed to all types of people, including rock’n’roll fans and folk fans and even people who did not like country music at all. There could be some uncertainty to this claim. Johnny Cash did appeal to many people, but he was major country music artist so it might be difficult to believe that people who were not fans of country music were a fan of Johnny Cash.

Most of the obituary is about Johnny Cash’s personal life. It includes information about his upbringings as a child and how his childhood was not easy. The obituary also mentions his struggle with substance abuse. Although part of this obituary makes arguments about Cash that we can evaluate, most of the obituary were facts about his life.

Cash's obituary online: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1158371.ece

Out of Class, meaning of the space for the local community

Barnes and Noble Booksellers in University Park Village is a significant store in the local Fort Worth community. This Barnes and Noble seems to be the largest bookstore in the area. The TCU Barnes and Noble is much smaller and the items in the store are primarily useful for the students at TCU. The other local bookstore in this area of Fort Worth is the Borders bookstore on Hulen. But unfortunately, this bookstore has closed due to bankruptcy. This leaves the Barnes and Noble in University Park Village to be the best bookstore in the area.

Bookstores are a necessity to have in a community. Without a bookstore, people would not be able to purchase the books they want or need. Barnes and Noble Booksellers offers more than just books. The store also serves a work space for some people. The store offers desks and chairs for people to work or read in. The store is also place of entertainment. There are big comfy chairs for people to lounge in while they read books for pleasure. The store contains a section of board games and toys. There is also an area full of various newspapers and magazines. Customers have the option to either purchase these items or just sit in the comfy chairs and browse through the magazines. Surprisingly, Barnes and Noble Booksellers also sells musical albums. There is large section in the store that has several shelves filled with albums of various music genres for people to purchase. Another significant part of Barnes and Noble is the children’s literature section called Barnes and Noble, JR. This area is decorated with kid friendly decorations and there is a mural on the wall of children playing on clouds in the sky. There are also toys and games for children in this area. Barnes and Noble, JR. makes literature appealing to children. Encouraging children to read is one of the most important things that Barnes and Noble does. Lastly, there is a Starbucks connected to the bookstore. Barnes and Noble makes it easy for people to have their daily fix of coffee. The huge Barnes and Noble Booksellers has so much to offer to everyone in the local community of Fort Worth.

Out of Class, analyzing a space with a partner

My partner, Tessa Del Grande, and I went to Mi Cocina to analyze the space. We went during happy hour at 5:30 so the restaurant was very busy. There was a long wait, but after a few minutes there was a table ready for us. The hostess seated us upstairs. Sitting upstairs gave us the advantage to be able to observe everything that was going on downstairs in the restaurant. The bottom floor of the restaurant is much larger than the upstairs so we had a great view of the entire restaurant. We wrote our field notes throughout the entire dinner, from when we first sat down until we finished eating and paid the check. As we sat at our table and looked downstairs, we observed the space of the restaurant below. We watched all the people downstairs eating their dinner or snacking on their chips. We also noticed the restaurant was very bright and the decorations on the walls were minimal.

This out of class assignment helped me understand exactly how I am supposed to write this first paper. This exercise helped me realize what I will need to observe for my paper. The concept of field notes is really helpful in analyzing spaces and writing a paper. When I observe and analyze a space for my paper, I am going to write down several more field notes about the place than I wrote down for Mi Cocina. I learned that the more field notes I have, the more I will have to write about.