qsmith’s blog

When we look at finding a cause of something, it helps to be or have been directly involved in the event. Such as in the introduction, the college student who wrote the paper on the differences between the AIDS epidemic in North America as opposed to Southern Africa has a cousin who has AIDS, and was very successful in her argument of causes. The reporter talking about the discrimination of boys’ behavior has never been directly involved with young boys and therefore received negative feedback on their writing about dealing with the boys in question. We must also assume unpopular causes sometimes, like the author writing about security in school. They suggested getting rid of lockers and having backpack scanning equipment, which would be unpopular with students and some teachers, but would be accepted by the principals who responded because they are responsible for the entirety of the school.

After reading “Why We Crave Horror Movies” I feel as though Stephen King is saying that was all like horror movies because we’re all mildly insane. He talks about how it satisfies emotions not widely accepted by normal social standards, which I agree with to a point. Watching horror movies, especially about murderers and killing kind of curbs the sadism we all have sometimes without us going out and doing the killing ourselves. I’m not saying watching horror movies is a good substitute for the satisfying feeling of murder, but I feel as though it takes a certain amount of sadism to watch and enjoy a horror movie.

1] It surprised me most to know how long that Quintilian’s ideas and concepts have been around.  They’ve been around for many centuries and not many ideas hold up for that long. It also surprised me when I realized how common and regular it is to see it in current works. Many things fit the form and style of Quintilian.

2] I’m so very excited to learn that persuasion has been considered an art form for many centuries that I can barely contain myself. This means that I, enjoying argument for argument’s sake, am an artist of great proportion.  But in all seriousness and stoicism, it is a great feat for an idea to stay solid and concrete for so long and not be proven incorrect by other people. He got it right hundreds of years ago.

3] I think that the 5-part scheme will be easy to use for the most part. Finding counterexamples and refuting them will definitely be the most difficult. Since we are talking about volunteer organizations, it might be hard to find bad things to say about them. Other than that, the scheme makes sense and it is simple to follow.

4] I think an interesting way to introduce my paper will be to talk about statistics of the hungry people in Toledo. I might accompany it with a story. Revealing a statistic seems to make the most sense because it is definite evidence. Making this interesting might be harder than I thought.

5] The narration will be the easiest part of Quintilian’s scheme to use. It is just explaining and displaying what the organization is about. There is a lot of detail to discuss and there is a plethora of information for me to use thanks to Al Gore and the inter web.

6] My refutation will most likely look like an English document on standard weight copy paper, 12 point font, double spaced, and black and white. I think it will start with a counterargument, something about how people can’t give up their own food just to feed other people. And it will finish with a refutation that I haven’t yet come up with. It’s difficult to come up with something against a food bank, all they do is good.

I’ve been asked to answer and respond to the question “How is she arguing her postion?” after reading “Boys Here, Girls There: Sure, If Equality’s the Goal” by Karen Stabiner and I’ve come to the conclusion that she is using reasoned arguing. The author presents her argument from a factual and scientifically based perspective, almost throwing ethics and typical social ideology out the window. She gives room and accounts for counterexamples, but her argument is deductive and valid, consistently providing evidence against the counterexamples. Her position is concise and clear with brief and true evidence and her argument does not beg the question by answering itself with the same problem. Stabiner provides dates and figures which accredit her argument greatly and I believe she does a good job at proving her point and making herself heard.

I believe in a home cooked meal. For my family and I, dinner has always been an important facet of our home life. It was a time and place set aside for one another, a place we would gather and talk and share. No matter how hectic my dad’s day at work was, how many problems my mom solved as a special education teacher that day, or how long my brother’s and I school day was, I think we all took solace in the fact that midst the unwinding and relaxing by ourselves, there was a time set aside for all of us to be together as a family. Ever since I can remember, I was always involved in the dinner somehow, even if it was when I was so young all I could do was give everyone napkins and set the table, but I was still a part of it. As I got older, I became more interested in cooking and developed a love for food and making meals, gaining not only knowledge and skill, but also a personal cooking philosophy.

Although there were countless dinners in my 18 years of living, I don’t think any display the notion of family and sharing better than Thanksgiving dinner. When I was younger, I can remember standing next to my mom on a stool over the sink peeling potatoes to make the same mashed potatoes we had every year, and every year it was my job to peel those potatoes. Over the years I took over making more and more of the myriads of dishes to be served at our vast and seemingly endless dining room table. When I was 15 years old, I cooked my first Thanksgiving meal entirely by myself. It took me days to conceptualize, visualize, and execute this meal. My menu was extensive, starting with a shaved fennel and orange salad all the way down to my pumpkin pie crème brulee¢.

I believe in a home cooked meal and family gatherings. I’ve had an interest in cooking since I was very young and became serious about it when I was about 13. When I was 15, I cooked my first entire Thanksgiving meal for my entire family. It had everything, right down to an apple pie for dessert. I was solely responsible for feeding 7 people who had helped raise me and guide me since I had been born. My audience consisted of my parents, my older brother, 2 grandmothers, and an aunt, quite a steep panel even though I knew they would enjoy it and be proud of me no matter what.

I had an enormous sense of pride invested in the single meal, my skills riding on the back of that roast turkey. The thought of providing for all of these people who had provided so much for me over the course of my life so far made me feel good, as though I was giving them something they deserved, even though it is comparing one meal to a teenage life span’s responsibility. But that pride and sense of togetherness is what I believe, that those strong emotions can be conjured simply by a home cooked meal.

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