Blog post 1

It is weird writing this first blog at the end of the semester in a feeble attempt to gain points to salvage any possible grade. You dont think about about how big your role is in everything that you do. I realized that I am involved in many communities. My family, my friends, work, rugby, fraternity, church, best friends, tallahassee as a whole, or even ocala, maybe even best friends would be another community, and my role at FSU. As we have progressed through the semester, I was so caught up with who I am and what I was doing in order to make it, somewhere along the way I forgot what it was to be a classmate. I think the communtity of a classmate is one that is often overlooked. Looking back I realize that we play so many roles in life, and being a classmate is one that is so complex. As if being stuffed into rooms with peers whom come from all walks of life isnt akward enough, we worry about what these strangers will think, and how they will portray us, or if the cute girl on the other side of the room will say hi or if you need to initiate the contact. I think sometimes we are so caught up with ourselves in the classroom enviroment we forget how we effect everyone else, through our judgements and beliefs. Looking back I wish I would have gotten more involved in this community and allowed the interactions to shape me more. Even as I traveled obliviously to and from this english class, I have had many accounts that have changed me. Workshopping and getting input on papers, working with others in order to complete a group project, and just making friends or aquaintences. It is funny that when someone is faced with a bad situation it causes one to reflect and realize how important we are in every community that we involve ourselves in on purpose or by chance. I know now that when people come together trying to accomplish a common goal it brings people closer and if anything they are more willing to accept your impefections and differences rather the presecute you for them. I have made many friends in class and I hope they can say the same about me. Being a classmate involves a lot of commitment inside and outside of the classroom. It just goes to show you all of our activities are meaningful and we should embrace all of them and reflect on them not only to understand them but to appreciate the complexities of every day life.

composition

that picture is tight. to the link i couldnt really tell wat was going on, then i started to scroll around and the one picture had words anthat were different websites. The link is not only a compositon it is a work of modern age art, which is kind of hard to think of a website as art however it is a whole world. it has links with information about generative poetry. i think that link was unbelievable

A bigger meaning

Many of there are pictures or words used as symbolism. In a sense if you read It out it is like a composition. It depends on how you look in to it. Pictures and words placed in different places and positions give it more meaning and often represent something bigger than that picture or text. A picture is worth a thousand words and I would assume 1000 words is a composition so why can’t a picture be. Many of the symbolism is describing more than what appears in front of the eye. I personally like/take interest to the ones with words in different places and position at angles to show different things.

Not In the Typical Way

When I first went to the link Jen gave us, I was really confused as to what it all meant. I saw it as a piece of art, of random ideas with a similar theme, but I had no idea how that could be considered literature. I found it interesting when I actually figured out you have to click the links. This type of reading is exactly like the internet reading that was addressed in the article we were suppose to read for last class. It was not consistent reading. You had to go back to the main page, and click to a new link, read, go back to the main page, ect. When I think of literature I think of sitting down with a book or article and reading. I have not thought of compositional reading as clicking between websites and reading. After reading some of the links and finding the connection between all of them, I have changed my mind and thought that this could be considered literature. All the links are of people expressing themselves with both words and pictures and that is the whole definition of literature; it is just not what I am used to.

all the little pictures are movie!

It is an electronic library of pictures I think. Yeah this is a composition because what really is a composition it is stuff you compose something you put together or form together so yes these pictures are compositions that website is a composition. I am confused as by what each picture means or why it is even there. I like reading the authors description of their piece. Oh wait those are title page things. Ok I get it now you click on the picture and then begin and you read the… Oh! It moves ok ok wow the landscape one scares me. Alright now that I figured out what is actually going on this is a very interesting way of putting words. I like the faith one because the words fall out of the sky as if divine and the words make a poem. It is cool how they use images and almost like scripts on some to tell stories or poems. Some of them even are like moves I like the one inanimate Alice in china. That was a suspenseful move with like sub titles, I would have let her have a dog. All these take words and sounds and put them with images and make some very cool combinations and stories.

Imagine that.

Not to seem hostile, but to all of the posts that involved "new and more exciting way of reading!", what happened to your imagination? A book paints a picture, but it is YOUR picture. With this sort of text based media, the artist/author/whatever you want to call it, is creating everything for you.

If I wanted a picture, I would have painted. If I wanted to see things, I would have wrote.

Surf it, Scroll it, Pose it, Click it

Cool!!!!! Call me childish but this is my type of composition. This cite isn’t your typical composition or literature, but with a few extra clicks you can see how it relates. Through the use of vibrant colors and hyperlinks, what appears to be a huge, random collage actually has meaning. For some reason as soon as I stared at the screen I knew to scroll over and click the individual boxes. The main white box toward the bottom right corner acts as a table of content almost. When you scroll over a small box, the title and author appear in the big box. Clicking a box leads you to its own private page strictly about that topic. This is a fun, interactive composition rather then a plain text one. I personally like it, the colors, the links and the layout itself is just so different you don’t expect it to be all about literature. We automatically assume literature is going to be plain and dry, print on paper but this really shows how technology has changed the meaning of literature of the years. From this site we can see how the use of colorful photos completely through off our minds. Maybe we are guilty of stereotyping literature? I think so. Don’t get me wrong, the purpose of it is still boring… learn about literature. Which, obviously, as we come to the end of our semester is played out but at least it got me to look at it a lot longer then I would have if it were traditional text. As childish as it may sound or be the excitement of change, visuals and interaction makes a huge difference on attention spans and interest in general. I like it and I think it would be really cool to use for future classes.

Right na na, NO.

This isn't literature. I'm sorry, maybe I come off as some uber conservative (which I'm pretty sure I've made quite evident to the entire class is completely not the case) who can't get away from the "old school", but seriously. What is this? Why are we even giving this the time of day, questioning whether it is literature? Art? Sure. Communication? Why not. But literature?! You must out of your mind. Steinbeck didn't have little people dancing around on his pages, Fitzgerald's Gatsby wasn't a picture, and if you had even considered to tell Poe that his writing would have come across better as anyform of binomial reproduction, he most likely would have either killed you, or himself, on the spot. I can't respect this with any formal definition I have of the concept of literature. And you want me to open up my definition of literature? Uh, no. Next thing you know, you'll be telling me that in that case, the dictionary really isn't of much good anymore since any definition can just "open up". Forget that. Literature is themed and plotted prose that contains an element that many people can relate to. I don't even consider poetry literature, because half the time no one can relate to what the hell a poet is talking about anyways. End of discussion - this website, as nifty as it may be, is not a product of a literary mind.

Interesting

When I first logged onto the website I was kind of confused about what it was but I thought it looked really cool. I began to play around on it and clicked a few of the boxes. The first one I clicked on was carving in possibilities and as I moved the mouse quotes would pop up and the sculpture of David became clearer and clearer. I then clicked on the landscapes box and that one was really weird. The text was scrolling by sort of through windows which made it really hard to read and the sound effects were really weird. The third and final one that I clicked on was storyland. I really liked the sort of circus music that it had as its intro and I actually liked some of the stories that I read on it. I think this website is really cool. It presents literature in a different way then just on paper. It really brings technology, images and literature together and the result is very innovative and interesting. Some of the things on the website were a little weird and it was kind of hard to make the connection between the literature and the images that they used.

The New Literature

When I first clicked on the site I thought to myself, “what is this?” There were so many links to choose from it took me about 3 minutes just to figure that out. I finally decided upon the classic Little Red Riding Hood. I read the description and realized it was exactly what we discussed in class the other week, a different and innovative type of literature. Just as we had discussed, it was definitely more entertaining and fun to read and use rather than reading from the typical book. With every scene you clicked on an item, it was like turning the page with my laptop’s mouse. I consider this a composition just like any other literature. I definitely think there is a lot less reading and imagination involved with this composition. Perhaps maybe using traditional and innovative literature is a good idea for academic curriculum. Especially younger children in school, they should definitely start with traditional textbook reading. There is no doubt that the websites different literature are a lot more entertaining but I’m not sure if they serve their purpose and that is to teach children literacy. Sometimes we have to just bite our tongues and read what we have to even if it the most boring book (my bio book).

electronic literature say what?

It looks like literature online not like boring words like most people such as I would think literature to be. It’s like a bunch of icons put together of pictures, words, and phrases. This is a composition in my opinion because literature does not have to be expressed just by using words and sentences. I think it can also be expressed using visuals such as photos. I think this is highly effective and more interesting than just reading words because you can actually see it and get a picture of what is being expressed. I think expressing literature through visuals such as through this electronic literature adds variety to what most people think what literature is. I know I used to think that it was only words and sentences that you would read in books. When I first went to the website, all I saw at first was a table of what seemed to be icons put together. I also noticed the colors and they definitely got my attention. So I looked closer and noticed each one expressed something different, whether it was through a couple words or phrase, or just a picture. It was appealing to the eye and it drew me in. I wanted to see what each little icon was about. I think expressing literature through visuals is a composition that I like because it interests me and through using pictures and just a couple words to express it, it can captivate.

what's the point?

After a good five minutes of staring at this seemed to be pointless site, I figured that each of the squares were hyperlinks to other website, and each site had to do with a product of what we deem as literacy. Each box would be opened and explained when clicked upon. And when you browsed the titles the box titled “electronic literacy volume one” would pose as a mini viewer of what was yet to come. This is composition per say but in a very peculiar method. It shows different types of literature works all under one site. As for the meaning of each square I did not care to uncover. But I am sure after staring off into the pointless website for a couple hours you can find some sort of pattern or relevance to it. Each box has a picture, which serves as a sort of title page before actually viewing each link further. After clicking each box there is a description that is written by the author and another link to begin the journey into rhetoric composition of whatever it is trying to do. Personally I don’t really like this site, but I am viewing it through the eyes of a pessimistic student who is forced to view the website and write a blog about it. But maybe if I was surfing the web and came upon it myself, then I would probably appreciate the type of art that it is portraying. The electronic literature collection also has quick links at the bottom to take you the about it section, all the titles, all the authors, and all the keywords. And by keywords I have no idea what it is talking about. Also at the bottom right the site is not one hundred percent copyrighted which could mean that some of the stuff that is being used is already being used within anther source.

Expression

When I first opened this website I had no idea what I was looking out. Then I stared clicking on some of the different collages  and it still didn't make to much sense. Until I found one that I liked and put the reason we were looking at these together. I was thinking about how we were using text to portray messages and thats exactly what a lot of these different collages were doing. The one that I like started out with an argument with the words yes and no going back and fourth at each other. Then maybe was thrown in. I felt like it gave you the feeling of an argument without having anyone speaking.  I thought about how if I was told to portray an argument without speaking how it would have taken me a long time to think up someone like that. Then I decided to not look at the bottom where it said what it was about till I had time to think about it myself first. The next one the word you and me were moving around the screen gently hitting each other as the slide by. It reminded me of an actual relationship and the stage were it seems like there is no one else around when your together. I couldn't believe how I could get all of that from just those two words you and me. This has showed me just how much you can make words on a screen mean something a lot more then just two words. I think this helped to shown me other ways to present my end project and how using words could help to make my project project my message in a stronger way then just talking about it.

Confusing

The website has some kind of electronic collage or something, idk. I mean i think it is kind of cool the way everything its together and the fact that obviously this meant enough to one person to put it all together in the first place. Yes there are words in the different boxes and i guess it could be considered literature given today's broad definition of it, but personally i would consider this more to be art and not so much literature. When i think of literature i think of something readable, and while the words in the boxes are readable they are just kind of random and dont really make sense together. Maybe if i continued to look at it and look deeper than just surface meaning i could find reason for the whole thing but there are also a lot of just random pictures and i am just not really sure how, meaning wise, it would all fit together. Like i said, maybe it could be considered literature but i, personally, would just consider it another way of expressing personality in art form. Not to say that it isnt good, i just dont necessarily think it fits my definition of literature. And i realize that the title box in the collage says "Electronic Literature, Volume 1" but I just dont agree with that, but then again maybe i have the totally wrong defnintion of literature in the first place. I dont know. But thank God this is the last blog.

Que?

At a first glance all this page looks like is a bunch of random pictures. To be truthful, I didn’t even realize each picture had a connected link until after 20 minutes of looking at it. But before I had realized each picture lead to a different site, I started to analyze each picture to see if there was another meaning. I began to see that each picture itself was related in the sense that they all had something to do with literacy.
According to the Dictionary online, they defined composition as the combing of distinct parts or elements to form a whole, or the manner in which such parts are combined or related. This type of artwork can be considered composition. This website was a picture made of pictures, but yet had an external link and meaning. In other words, this was a composition of artistic words jumbled together to get a bigger picture. I feel that this was a great way to compose a composition. It was clever the way it was set up, and I very much enjoyed this.  Although I'm still confused as to what each link means, I found this composition to be very clever in it's organization. 

What Do You See

This page seems to be an online collage of some sort. Different individuals’ works are posted with a visual that goes in hand with the subject of the piece. I found the window that that shows the title and author o the works to be very convenient. Although it seems to serve the purpose of merely magnifying the title and author of the selected piece, the window serves as an element of composition as well as.
Essentially, the entire page as well as each individual pieces are composition. I notice how the some of the pieces include only an illustration with the text being viewed in the text window while other pieces consisted of only text. However, the illustration or text corresponded with the title of the piece. I also noticed the alignment, position and size of the title and author window in comparison to the other windows. They make it bigger than the other windows in order for viewers to be able to read the text without straining. However, the position isn’t very a good position because it’s not the center of attention. Then again, that’s probably the look that the designer was looking for.
I noticed that the windows with images and color caught my attention more than those with just text. Shelly Jackson’s My Body was one of the first pieces that caught my eyes. The contrast of the light blue background and black and white image made the window stand out. Opening the piece introduced a whole other element of composition. The picture of the woman holding a pen and paper with the name of her body parts framed around her made me come to many conclusions. I saw the woman as Shelly herself standing in front of me writing and pointing and telling her audience what each part is called. The squares that highlights a body part serves as Shelly’s fingers pointing and the text that accompanies the boxes symbolizes Shelly’s voice.
Whether text and images are together or alone, they can be considered as composition. It’s up to the viewers to interpret it based on how the text or images are presented and it’s up to the creator to present the images or texts in a way that they want their viewers to see their composition.

literscy

literacy to me means, that you are able to read, speak, communicate effectivly, to be able to comprehend the things read and be able to forumlate an intelligent response.

Literacy

Dictionary.com defines literacy as the ability to read and write but I think as you progress academically and in life the meanings standards raise above and beyond the ability to read and write. I see that as the elementary definition of the word, but when you get to be a college student the definition might change to ability to read a boring ass chemistry book and the ability to write a 12 page research paper. I think literacy is judged on each level, compared to that of the students around you. If I can’t read a book or pronounce the words in a certain book that a friend is reading he may say “you can’t read” or even call me Frank Gore or George Bush. The definition depends on what extent you take it to general literacy is much different than college or high school literacy. I think my definition of literacy would be the ability to read and write need to exceed at your level of schooling. Of course many years ago when the literacy rate was very low the generic definition was acceptable but in the 21st century it is more complex especially at the college level. And yes I think that English classes should use techniques other than academic or scholarly writing for example crots and other creative things used to personalize the paper such as we are currently doing.

literacy

In my opinion of literacy is has to do with reading and being able to read I guess. And as for the 21 century once again I’d have to say it means being able to read like books and stuff. I do think that the English classroom should try experimenting with other forms rather than books because at times books I think can get boring and so it would be nice to bring variety and allow the material to be seen through different compositions. Although it may be more practical to just rely on the scholarly writing, it is sometimes nice to be able to look at other sorts of things such as blogs and what not. I think that in the English classroom is a great place where you should be able to experiment because English can tend to me boring to many. And to have to stick with the same genres of academic writings, it can make it seem boring and not as fun. But if you make it to where one can choose to experiment in the classroom then this might bring enthusiasm and intrigue the student to actually want to do the work and learn something new.

Literacy

Literacy I think is all around us. To me it means to be able understand whats going on around us. We need to have knowledge on pretty much a little of everything in order to not be completely in the dark.  If literacy didn't exist how could someone drive a car when they couldn't even read signs. They would never be able to read a newspaper or enjoy a novel on the beach. What would life be like without literacy? Would you be miserable and feel separated from everyone else? I think literacy for an FSU student means being able to so what they want to do with life it provides us with the ability to be educated in whatever field interest us.  I think it is a good thing to adventure outside  the traditional writing. It helps us to think outside the box and makes everyone different in their own way. If everyone was stuck on the traditional ways how could anyone pick who they would want to hire for a job everyone would just be the same.

Mixing Some Old With Some New

I believe that the basic definition of literacy is just a person’s ability to read or write. To me the word literacy does not necessarily mean reading a novel or writing a research paper. It’s not so much what you read or write, just that you have the ability to. With it being the 21st century and the fact that technology is constantly expanding I think it is very important that everyone, not just students, are acquainted with the basic knowledge of how to search things beyond just text-based. I do find it a shame however that people do not read as much scholarly writing anymore. I think that it is something that is very important. Like the first article discussed, the internet is a place where your reading is choppy and not consistent. You are jumping from one web page to another, not necessarily in order, and many times there are other things distracting you like instant messages or games. So I think it is important that schools have required reading for students, that way they are getting this time that they sit down and their brain is focused on just the reading in a novel. While I think schools are doing that part right, I don’t think it is right for them to try to exclude teaching students’ frivolous methods of compositions. It is more practical for a student to be taught to read and write a variety of genres as well as a variety of different compositions because those are the areas where it will benefit from them having knowledge, especially in this day in age.

Literally?

Metaphorically, it can be compared to that which isn't there. The vocabulary we use to blow our hot air is merely a medium with which we can use to compare. Or perhaps contrast, our thoughts into a communicable flairs. You know, that which occurs between a group or a pair. Paring off what's excess, won't always bring about the best style, in writing, driving, or the study of any reptile. I behoove you to reconsider, once you're finished, if this at all make sense. If literacy, is literally, a practical component of text. If genres and styles are really worthwhile, why do so many seem to disagree? I know it can't just be me. We file complaints and suit against our teachers and those whose merely want to us to learn how to express. And I find that as is the case with life, those who complain the most, are the ones whose prose is a mess. I can't speak for the rest, but I feel that "lol" and "brb" don't do as well of a job of conveying emotion like "laughing outrageously lavisciously" and "being ridiculously bleak". Perhaps this cycle into which we seem to have fallen will one day run off course of its track. However, I myself, must utterly admit, that my lingo will continue with tact. Good day.

New forms of media

I have always thought of literacy as being educated in the field of English. Now a day I think that it is important to be educated in technology. I think that in today’s society where the realm of technology is vastly growing it is vital that we get educated in that field. The thing about this class is that we have learned a lot of stuff that I learned when I was in the tenth grade and to be completely serious I do not think will help me when I get into the real world. Now the skills that we can learn from these other forms of media will help us when we get into the real world. This is because we have not been exposed to these forms of media before which means that we would be learning something new. I think that the English classroom is an excellent place to experiment because we write so much that there are a lot of times that we are given the opportunity to expose our writing. If we are to scared to experiment and use these other forms of media then people are going to lose their interest. There is no reason to stay in the past.

Today's Literacy

My definition of literacy is to be able to read write and comprehend a particular language. For some their definition of literacy might be different. Applicable to me is the English language. I feel that our definition of literacy should be broadening to other Medias and methods due to our constant changing society. Many of us today do not prefer to read, and use other sources than books for entertainment or to become aware of what is occurring in the world. I know for me I prefer to stalk facebook over picking up a newspaper of book. By broadening the definition of literacy it would increase student’s interest and perhaps encourage them to write on their own. I know when I am more interested and passionate about my topic my writing reflects this. I think blogs, such as this, are a step in the right direction for new innovative ways for people to express themselves through literacy. For our Enc1102 blog I feel that a way to keep the class interested in this type of expressive literacy would be to allow a different student to pick a topic each time that they feel needs to be talked about, rather than being assigned a boring topic.

Starved of Creativity

Literacy to me means expressing yourself with words whether it be written, sang, rapped or whatever form. The classroom should definitely venture beyond the pages of books and just written words because there is so much out there. Especially in today’s society the way people have begun to express themselves and their creativity is amazing. Lyrics to songs have some of the most amazing literature at least that I have seen and I find myself relating more with that kind of literature than anything that I am exposed to within the classroom. Although the literature that is presented in class is representative of the proper way to write I feel that writing should be allowed to be more free formed and expressive. I find writing to be really therapeutic and a really good way to release the inner thoughts that are tumbling constantly through my mind. It’s also a cool way to track your life, where it has been and where it’s going. I used to write journals about getting into college and where I would end up going and now that I am college it is interesting to re-read all the concerns and fears that I had. The classroom definitely needs to expand its means of literacy to include all the forms that deserve to be recognized even if they are slightly unorthodox compared to what is usually presented to students. I think students would enjoy it more and new forms of literacy could have the potential to spark some new form of creativity in each student.

I STILL HAND WRITE THANK YOU CARDS!!!!!!!

Literacy to me is the ability to read and write. Those are 2/3 of what it takes to communicate with other people (the third is obviously talking). If you can’t read and write things get pretty tough for you. Yet in our digital age we are running into an age that reading and writing might not be as popular or even necessary now with books on IPods news weather and sports are using video rather than traditional articles. Schools are not teaching their students things like grammar or how to properly address mail or letters. Traditional methods of communication are going digital. But it is necessary that we learn digital composition. As much as that pains me and as much as I hate E-mail and Blackboard it is necessary to understand digital composition because we are entering a digital age where we as a species are depending more and more on computers. Yes literacy maybe the ability to read and write but you must keep up with how information is being distributed, how the writings are being distributed because if you don’t then you will be left in the dark. Oh and yes I still hate blackboard and E-mail.

hookd on fonix

Literacy. To me, the word literacy means that one has the ability to read and write. I think that people are not really losing the ability to do those things by using the internet, but I do agree that kids don't read for fun anymore. I would blame this on schools rather than the internet. Kids read stuff online because they can pick the subject of the stuff they are reading. At school, they have to read boring books, and it turns them off from reading. When i was younger i went to a private school and never was REQUIRED to read anything. I loved reading and would always be in the library looking for mystery books to read. When i got to public school I was so shocked that they made you read books. I had never done a book report, and when my leisure activity was turned into work, I started to hate reading, and still do. I think it is extremely important for english classes to turn to other forms of writing besides text-based things. Just because it is a published book does not mean it is interesting, and in today's world there are so many different forms of information besides scholarly articles. I think technology is a good thing. I disagree that it is making this generation stupid because we just know how to find more specialized information. We know what we want, and the internet is the place to find it. I still know how to read and write even though I don't have my nose in a book all the time, or ever for that matter. After all... this blog post and mostly everything we do for classes at FSU involve reading online, so people better get used to it, because it is easy to access an it works!

Stepping Outta That Box

Last semester I was assigned to write a paper about the literacy I had developed throughout my life. In this paper, I had written about the development of my reading, writing and even learning skills. I went into detail discussing how as a child, my appreciation for these three things were at a different “level” than where they currently stand. But as I look back, I would now define one’s literacy as much more than reading, writing, and ability to learn. I would add the way someone presents them self, or the persona someone has to this definition of literacy. Being able to present themselves with confidence and integrity could also go hand-in-hand with my definition of literacy.
I feel that literacy is such a vital skill in life that everyone should only learn to perfect it over time. Of course, like the saying goes, nothing is ever perfect. Although I feel with practice and everyday use, these skills of writing, reading, learning and communication, people can learn the proper ways of literacy. Especially as a student at a prestigious university such as Florida State University, I feel that having these skills of literacy are important. Perhaps students can learn, or perfect, these skills through their English classes, as suggested. I feel that learning a new way to write, or figuring out a different style of writing is always fun. I think that the English classroom is the perfect place to “adventure outside the realm of text-based writing to try other forms of composition”. Within the English classroom, there should be little limits with what students can explore throughout the various parts of literacy.
I personally feel that learning how to compose in other genres would be difficult. For the past 18 years, I have written and communicated within the same boundaries. To step outside those boundaries, would stress me out only wanting to perfect this new skill.

Hoo NeEdz ToO ReEd?

Litrcy iz a frm ov knwing how to reed nd right, nd mny peepl due not no how to due it. In essence the percentages and ratios of people who don’t know how to read and write are too high for the type of society we live in today. Our society, not only has the ability to but can create the need to abolish literacy in their own respective geographic areas, international care can even be provided through the help of more developed nations. For me literacy in regards to literature means the ability to read and write, but in the confines of my own mind literacy means the ability too. There is a famous quote which reads: “Knowledge is power,” and I couldn’t agree more, but simple knowledge doesn’t just come in the form of books and school, it comes in the form of knowing what to do. Living in the 21st century there Is a lot of speculation everywhere but mostly in the economy and job market. Kids today are forced to hit reality sooner than they’d think and even sooner than they’d like. But we are speaking in terms of the English classroom. In terms of the English classroom literacy respectively is being able to decipher between several different types of works and genres. In my opinion scholarly writing is the anti Christ of literacy, because it is taking the point of literacy and expecting too much for no reason. Composing is understanding and for one to master both literacy is needed. You need to be able to tell whether a piece is being sarcastic, or if the humor is dry, because if you don’t get it you probably missed the whole point of the story. The English classroom is a place to learn about literacy but not to experiment with it.

Let's Mix It Up

Literacy is the ability to read, write and use language without difficulty. As a Florida State student in the 21st century, obviously it is important to be literate in order to succeed in school, but I feel literacy for us exceeds the traditional ability to read and write and expands into technology and creativity as well. Not only is tech-savvy part of literacy, so is street knowledge to a certain extent, its more about thinking outside the box now. I feel traditional literacy was based on whether or not a person was able to read something or write a paragraph, today with such an advanced society our literacy should match our way of life. Since the world runs off computers and other fun, convenient equipment English classrooms should adventure outside the basic text-based writing forms to others. At this point, hopefully we would assume students are traditionally and more modernly literate, text-based lesson plans in a way could hold back possible exploration of newer, more appealing methods of learning. Scholarly writing of course is important, so basic knowledge of how to find it and analyze it is essential, yet I feel we go much more beyond that these days. There is much more creativity and minds think differently then traditional outlines. I think it is essential to break out of basic genres and explore other options. In all honesty, most students do not enjoy English classes as much as they could, if it wasn’t such a basic structure of reading, writing, researching. In my opinion it is more demanding to have more options and choices, it might be said our generation is “spoiled” which is certain aspects is true, but our minds aren’t set conventionally in past times, we constantly see the discovery and invention of more color, shapes and movements in medias, so we thrive on it. I don’t think we can continue to maintain a Standard English classroom; it has to adjust to the students in it, which changes as society does. Just like we don’t dress like our grandparents did at age 18, we don’t necessarily learn like they did, maybe the same concepts, but if we have the technology and opportunity to crank up our English classroom learning experience, why wouldn’t we? Good writers come and go, but are popular with people of their time who can relate to them and their writing style.

Fun Methods of Literacy

My definition of literacy is the ability to understand what one has read and interpret the text into your own words. In addition to reading, one must be able to write effectively in a manner that will help them interact or communicate with others. Whether writing an essay, research paper or letter, literacy works both ways. It’s up to the writer to write a grammatically correct letter that can be read in whatever language that the letter is written. On the other hand, it is up to the person receiving the letter to be able to read, interpret and understand the letter.
I personally think English can be a boring subject at times. Especially when everything goes according to plan or by the books. It’s even worst when assignments are given on a certain boring subject and students are to write endless amounts of pages and do endless research on this subject. Therefore, I think the English classroom should adventure outside the realm of text-based writing to other forms of composition. As we move towards the future, things change. Although we should not throw them away, we also shouldn’t rely on the traditional genres of academic and scholarly writing. What should be done is take them into consideration, depict their flaws and modify them to suit the present and future.
The English classroom is a perfect place to experiment with frivolous methods of composition because as stated earlier, English could be a very, very dull subject. Adding playful methods of composition to the subject helps ameliorate the situation. It’ll make the subject that much more interesting and increases the chances of students doing English assignments to learn the subject rather than completing the work just for the grade and to be done with the class.
What we have been doing in class so far is alright. We’ve been including other elements such as the media and technology into our writing, therefore, making a little less boring than it would be without these elements. It’s a whole lot more interesting and easier to read a paper on the web with corresponding images and colors than a white sheet of paper with thousands of tiny letters. Essentially, writing in a children’s book format, with pictures and colors, is a great method of composition that I think both the writer and reader would enjoy.
I, personally, am a technology and electronic fascinated person. However, I wouldn’t be fully interested in writing a ten page research paper on technology. I would actually like to engage and interact with an electronic device or program besides Microsoft Word on a computer. In essence, doing the same thing over and over gets dull. The routine must be changed, especially if it’s not working, from time to time to keep things interesting. Therefore, frivolous methods of composition should be used more often than the traditional methods of composition. I commend the idea of using various visual programs, such as NVU, Power Point, and iMovie for the final paper. It makes me that much more interested in writing the paper

Literacy

I consider literacy to be somewhat the same thing educated… To be educated is to be able to comprehend a language, to read it, speak it, write it and understand it. I think that literacy kind of goes along with that…to be literate, to be able to read and write and understand something. I don’t think that if a person isn’t very good at writing poetry they are not literate. I think literacy is an extremely broad term and can apply to a number of people with different educational backgrounds. I don’t think that one can become literate just by reading books all the time, or writing constantly. I believe literacy comes from a combination of reading, writing, creativity, comprehensive thoughts, etc. I don’t think that one particular type of writing should be considered the basis of learning how to write, but I don’t think that everyone should be forced to write in specific ways… that sounds kind of complicated. Let me rephrase that…um I don’t think that a research paper should be the only form of writing that students are allowed to write in but I also don’t think that students should be required to write haikus and all that…some people just aren’t good at that kind of stuff and it’s just a lot of limitation. So no, i dont think we should have to learn all different types of writing like we did in high school (and probably sucked at them). I liked the crot assignment because it allowed us to write in a way that we could express ourselves comically, seriously, poetically, etc and write in forms that we knew we could write in. The crots were basically stories, and what are college students best at? telling outrageous stories.

unusual communities

i think it would be tight as fook to write about a few communities, here i have listed a few of them which i think would be pretty neat,

1. couch surfers if u havnt heard of it check out couchsurfing.com
2. the rainbow people no not gay people but the crazy hippies who wander the united states and shroom out around campfires, i have accidentally stumbled onto a "gathering" and it was pretty scary
3. goth culture. anyone who has seen the people in black with piercings knows exactly what i am saying hopefully i am not out of line with the term vampires
4. world travelers, people who travel and work as they go, they stay in hostels and just want to travel their entire life
5. gangs- i met a crip one time his name was mane, "when its rainin outside others get wet but i stay dry" havnt figured out what he meant by that however im sure its something deep
6. the underground society of pick up artists or womanizers
7. greek life
8. sidewalk surfers, lets face it the shit they do off the wall is sick
9. peanut farmers
10. wizards, worlocks, palmreaders and shit like that
11. circus performers and carnies! this is my favorite of course this includes the bearded lady and lizard man
12. hello my name is. and im addicted to.

Polygamist Community

When looking at different communities to explore for my next paper I had a hard time thinking of creative topics. I wanted something that would have plenty of information on the internet and numerous photos to show. I finally came up with a few good ideas. The one I’m writing about now is the community of polygamists. A polygamist is someone who has multiple spouses. In particular I’m thinking about research a polygamist society that caters to the male. This is when the male has multiple wives but the wife has only one husband. Their children are plenty and the women are typically not treated well. The husband is definitely in charge whether it’s what his wives wear that day to whether or not they can go somewhere. In some instances the children are forced in to the polygamist community. Their only option is to escape by running away. By running away they leave behind their family from which they are now shunned. States outlaw these types of communities but some still exist secretly. They do this through private fences and other means of hiding the polygamist community. I personally do not agree with polygamy, especially if it’s one sides and degrading to women.

Comment on "What i Like to Call Unique Commuinties"

I've always kind of wandered why people who were confederate keep those confederate flags on their homes also. If the war was about 144 years ago, that means that the people who are representing the confederates in such a hard core manner weren't even around at the time of the war. On my way back to Tallahassee, we stopped at a McDonalds where I saw some people with a confederate flag on their car. The first thing that one of my friends thought of them was that they are races. However, they were quite polite and even had a couple African American friends that were waiting for them at the McDonalds. They exchanged greetings, had several conversations, laughed and everything else. So a question that can be posed to those people is what do others think of these people?

on the streets

So i thought and thought.. and for my community i would like to look at gangs. Not exactly one gang in specific, but all gangs in general. You know along the lines of the bloods and such. Maybe just the different origins of gangs, different types, their purpose, their initiations and such. I think this would be a good topic because it is a unique community that people don't know about, or aren't really supposed to know about. Gangs are real and they are also interesting. Maybe I could look at gangs in different states and the type of people that are in them. I don't really know what else there is to know about gangs but I think it is an interesting community to analyze. If a gang is not a good community because the information is secret, then my second choice would be to look at the homeless community. I think it would be interesting to find out about poverty in the U.S and the rest of the world. How they got into that position, if they intend to get out if it, what they live like and stuff like that. I think people often have a negative view towards the homeless and in analyzing this community it would enlighten people to their everyday lives. Those are the two possible communities that I think would be interesting topics for paper three and the final project.

Unusual Communities

In my senior year of high school, I read a book named 1984 by George Orwell. The book contains a futuristic plot of how the future will be completely run by the government. You and everything about will no longer belong to you. You aren’t even safe in your own mind. You cannot express any feeling, gestures, or any other natural human emotions or reactions or else you will be eliminated. That meant that you can’t have sex for pleasure, only when told, with the no emotions gestures or feelings rule still in play.
Since I’ve read this book, I’ve always wondered how someone would survive living in a community such as that. To live your life like controlled robots, constantly fearing of being eliminated, and knowing that whatever the government or higher powers are saying is not true but you still have to accept it as a fact. The newspaper could say one thing today and completely contradict itself the next day but there is nothing you can say or do about it.

I worked on a film project on the subject of helping the homeless while I was in high school. Most people say they are reluctant to give the homeless a helping hand because they waste the change they are given on alcohol. Of course that is not the case with all homeless people but there is an argument that you don’t know which are telling the truth and which aren’t. It’s tough for those who would actually use the money they receive in order to really help themselves to have to be in the same category as who throw away their spare change on useless things and even things that will actually harm them.
I find the homeless community to be a frightening community to be a part of. Struggling to gather some change to find something to eat and the horrors of finding a safe place to sleep and a ton of other factors are all some scary situations that come with being part of the homeless community.

I’m not sure if this would be considered as a community or not, but one place that I would enjoy being is the classic cartoon world, including cartoons like The Looney Tunes and my personal favorite, Tom and Jerry. I could see myself laughing constantly living in the Tom and Jerry community. I would get hurt in one scene but with a transitional fade or wipe, I would be at 100% in the next scene. I would seldom speak but you would be able to figure out my intentions from my gestures and actions. I would never do any chores because I would have a cat named Tom to do that for me and I would never do any homework because I would have a smart, writing capable mouse named Jerry to do that for me also. I would probably be rich or well known for having a dog named Spike who knows how to growl, bark and speak English

Amish

While Ms. O'Malley first told us what our next paper was going to be on the first unique community that came to my mind was Amish. I don't really know much about them except for what I've seen in movies, but I have always wondered do people really live like that. How could people really live like that. The questions about Amish are endless for me. I just don't understand why they would want to live completely away for the world. It's it a lot faster to drive a car then to go on a horse drawn carriage.  I don't understand why a new bride would just be okay with not getting a wedding ring just because they are not allowed to wear jewelry. I am not sure if I will be allowed to do my research on the Amish though because I know we are not allowed to do religion and I know that the whole Amish culture is based on their religion. I do think that this religion is very unique from other religions. 

If I am not allowed to use this community then while researching a found another unique place that got my attention. IT is called Bicycle City. This is more of a future plan where people are coming together to form a community with no cars and only bicycles. There plan is to come together to form a community that is saving the society. Now they are taking reservations for people who would want to live in the city.

My country tis of thee

Frankly I am not really interested in anymore communities than the ones that I wrote my crot on, for the plain fact that I really don’t see a visible point in doing so. But since it is an assignment and I need a good grade I shall put my mind to make an effort. I like to travel, even though I haven’t really been anywhere other than Iran, France, and a couple domestic states. But along with traveling come very unique sights, sounds, and cultures. I am sure we will narrow focuses down later, so I am going to discuss the international community in general. The international community can be broken down into three simple areas: culture, people, and places. Each place has its own characteristics that it is distinguished by. The place is sort of a class, and people and cultures serve as the sub class. Place is important because depending where you are the community will be very different. Communities within three miles of each other are very different just imagine different countries, then imagine different places in each country. Next come people, people make up the places (well most, some places can have communities without the presence of people). Each individual person makes up the place which makes up the community. People are all different, no two people are the same therefore no two communities abroad will ever be the same. Culture is the most important aspect that I will delve on because culture is what separates Americans form Asians, from middle easterns…you get the picture. Everyone’s culture around the world is different, and people within the united states have cultures based upon their own beliefs from the mother land. All in all there is a whole world out there full of communities cultures and people that we haven’t come into contact with and may never will, and I want to uncover some of those.

NFL players....BIG......help

I don't know if this is too well known or isn't what you were looking for but I was planning on choosing the NFL's charity organization. Several player and teams in the league give their free time to offer help to their communities. For example several New Orleans Saints such as Reggie Bush helped give people supplies in their time of need. FSU's own Warrick Dunn is the biggest of all NFL's contributors as he buys a home for a needy family on a yearly bases and stuffs the refrigerator with food. That along with community work he has been awarded for his community work by the NFL. One article referencing this states in description of the picture above "Christine Bonilla, a single mother of five, cries as she holds the keys Warrick Dunn handed her this morning to her Habitat for Humanity house in Dade City."

police as a community

One community that I found it very interesting to explore is that of the police. When I was just messing around online the other day I say that there had been 7 police officers that were shot and 4 of then died last week. This is really sad but one thing that I found that was really interesting was how they banded together and were like a family. I do want to be a police office when I graduate so this is very interesting to me. But one thing that really stuck out to me was that they are so close and such a strong community because of what they have to deal with everyday (the idiots and the danger) that the co workers (the other officers) were grieving just as much as the actual blood related family was. I thought that this would be really interesting to investigate because we don’t think of the police as being a family but more as being the people that save hostages and who pull us over and write us speeding tickets. With all of this said I was very intrigued with the uniqueness of this community and thought that this would be a great one to analyze and dig deeper into.

What i Like to Call Unique Commuinties

Ok ok I have to come up with some interesting communities that intrigue me or set off certain feelings. Ok the first one that has to be are those people who get their food out of the trash by dumpster diving. They are called Freegans they are an anti-consumer group that out of political protest go dumpster diving in super market dumpsters looking for unspoiled food. This one really grosses me out, I don’t understand their protest why are they forcing themselves to eat garbage, what’s their cause and why are risking their health for this.

Alright another group is the people who go out and reenact like civil war battles. I know it is important to show your “Heritage” and to remember those who died. But some of those guys go way over the top. I mean hey the civil war is over, it has been over for 144 years, the south lost. Get over it. I don’t mean to sound disrespectful, and if I do I am sorry but united we stand divided we fall. Side note I had family fight on both sides of the war mainly confederate since, obviously from Tallahassee, but you don’t see me strapping a huge ass confederate flag on the back of my car and driving down capital circle with it, that is just silly to me.

My last community, the Rainbow people. I know what you are thinking but No these are Nomadic Hippies left over from the hippie era they are Nomadic Americans who travel from forest to forest normally on national forests or states forests land just living. Rainbow Gatherings are temporary international communities, typically held in outdoor settings, and espousing and practicing ideals of peace , love , harmony, freedom and community, as a consciously expressed alternative to mainstream pop culture, consumerism, captilism and mass media. The media often cast negative light on this group due to drug use, nudity and other things. This one is strange group I never really knew about.

Transgender Community

The community that I think I might write this paper about is the community of transgender or transvestite people. I have always had mix emotions about this community. I wouldn’t say that I am necessarily scared of transgender people but more intrigued. I didn’t really understand what transgender people were until I watched the most recent season of MTV’s the Real World in which a transgender person (Kaitlin) is one of the cast members. She at first is not open about the fact that she is transgender but once she opens up she is very open to sharing her experience. The emotional and physical pain that she had to go through just to be the way that she wanted was very interesting to hear about. I am unsure if I want to combine the two communities or just focus on transgender. Transgender people are people that were born a certain sex yet undergo a surgical procedure to “transform” into their desired sex. It is an expensive and extensive surgical procedure and is not performed in the United States. Those that want to get the surgery done have to go through months of therapy and take a ton of hormonal pills way before they can even have the surgery performed. The physical and emotional change that the transgender people undergo through their metamorphism is something that I find could lead to a very interesting paper. I feel that that the gay community is such a hot topic in today’s society and there are so many different opinions out there that it will be interesting to research.

The Drug World

So as soon as Ms. O’Malley mentioned outrageous communities to explore I couldn’t help but think of nudist colonies. While not so common in America as in Europe, I actually know of one in South Florida and think it is one of the strangest things ever. In correlation to the nudist colony I thought “what about nude beaches”, if the saying “no shirt, no shoes, no service” is so popular, and clothing is required pretty much everywhere, why not in these places? What are the exceptions to the law and who decided to fight for these communities? I think it’s just weird that a nudist colony in South Florida is divided from a normal neighborhood by a single fence, on one side you can walk outside butt naked and on the other it’s illegal.

So as I was online, those stupid survey ads popped up on the side of my screen and said "Do you think marijuana should be legalize?" Then it hit me, the drug community, not the whack little teenagers selling weed, but the big boys, the bosses. It’s illegal, we are aware of the matter, so how is it still everywhere? Why are there so many drugs and drug dealers? What about the Drug community? Or should I call it a drug business? It is easy to assume, the do drugs and they sell the drug, but actually its not necessarily true. Statistics say more then half of cocaine drug dealers don’t actually smoke or snort cocaine, it’s just part of their job. Is the drug community like a corporate business? Is there a boss and chairmen and employees of different levels? Do they work together? Or is it just once its in your possession, your on your own? I learned drug dealers actually take care of their employees and discourage violence. What fears do they face? Why do they get involved in that community? I guess its hard to understand at first but I think the drug world is fascinating, and no I do not do drugs, but I think its crazy how drugs are illegal, yet so many people do or have at least tried some. People grow it at home even, how do so many people get away with it all? It’s kind of impressive, and if the law is aware of its popularity, how has it not been shut down? Or legalized? Can you imagine if marijuana was legalized and the government could tax it, they’d make a lot of money. I have so much interest and curiosity in it all, especially because kids even on this campus think they know everything about weed, or whatever drug, but its like a whole other world, the drug world and I'm sure we'd all be surprised at things we could find out about it and the people involved.

Looking at it from Another Perspective

At first it was hard to think of “outrageous” communities, without being cliché. My train of thought had immediately gone to the communities we had already explored, like sports teams, high school friends, fraternities, etc. After reading the prompt about “Toddlers and Tiaras,” for some strange reason the idea of Harry Potter and Twilight came into mind. The idea to explore the world and community of “Witches and Warlocks,” and Vampires would be interesting. Maybe even exploring a little background information on the city of Winston-Salem. To try and figure out why they think they are witches, warlocks, vampires, or if they really are.  

Another community, that I must give Ali credit for was a Nudist colony. In the town we live in, there is a Nudist colony. I think it would be interesting to explore the reasoning and habits of these people. The history of how such a bizarre thing started, or even how it’s not illegal.  Along with the nudist colony, another possible community could perhaps be the community of reality shows. I’m not sure if this community makes sense, but I feel that it is something someone could explore behind. To try and find the factuality behind them, and figure out if they are really staged or not. This community may be difficult to explore, because you would have to break it down part by part. But, it was just another possibility.

Communities

I was thinking about communities and found it hard to find unique communities that Jennifer didnt already mention in class. One idea i had was an army community, because my cousin is in the army and i thought i could interview him and get a lot of info that way because of how helpful my interviews were for my last paper. But i honestly am really bad with politics and war and topics like that and i feel like i would get bored because i didnt understand it. So then i was back to square 1...with no ideas. I was watching CSI when the idea of serial killers kind of came to me. I think it would be really interesting to learn about some of the people who cause chaos in our societies. Then that idea kind of led to the idea of gangsters or mobs, but i dont really like that idea and probably would end up really tired of it. My dad suggested that i study the community of jigaboos but i dont really thats a winning topic either. haha. I still go back to the idea that jennifer mentioned of Wiccans. I think that would be really interesting but i feel like it is really over-done and not quite as unique as this assignment is supposed to be. I mean yes the community is unique but the topic isnt so much. I kept thinking about communities you see in the media and I saw a commercial with a bunch of athletes on it and thought hmm maybe a community of pro athletes or pro team of some kind but then I remembered she said no sports teams. So then I thought well what about the people that are in the shows and movies we watch, how about the acting community? That idea led me to the idea of the Playboy community which I thought would be kind of interesting. We all wonder about how they each deal with the fact that they aren’t someones significant other…they are alllllll Heff’s girlfriends and in a house of mostly women…there has to be some serious catfights. So that I think was probably the most interesting topic I had thought of thus far. I was still thinking and looked over to see my sister sitting with her glasses on (which she never wears) and her computer on her lap and I told her she looked like a geek…hmm the Geek Squad community? I bet they get made fun of a good bit… because they really are geeks and most of them look the part. Could the geek squad be the guys from high school that everyone made fun of and called a geek and here they are all grown up with jobs and still living under the title of a geek? Idk just brainstorming. Probably not a topic for me. I think the best idea I had was about serial killers. I would be really interested in that and might actually enjoy researching it. To get a look into the mind of someone so sick that instead of playing a sport for fun they take peoples’ lives… I think that has some potential. So if anyone wants to write on that…Im down just let me know…lets group it up.