I'm tired of blogging.  Throughtout these last couple months, I've realized something: blogging is hard work.  Some might think blogging is easy.  Just write a few sentences and post, right?  Wrong, blogging does require the writer to think.  The blogger usually has contempate sentence structure and topic to talk about.  Prehaps this thought process does not reach the depths of knowledge needed to write a research paper, but blogging still requires a fair amount of the user's brain power if he or she wants the blog to make any sense.  If this logical connection is not establsihed, the reader will forget about the blog.  This principle is protrayed in my failures and successes with recent entries.

Coverage:

Timeliness:

Interaction:

Depth:

Discussion:

Here is the link to the EL150 site.

Code

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"She's NO CODE" (Edson 82).

It's sad that after all the reader learns about Vivian, she is reduced to a code.

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War

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"There's a war going on here" (Card 301).

Isn't it funny how the Earth's goverment seems to fall apart right after their glorious victory on the buggers?  Perhaps Card was trying to make the point that humans only band together when their lives are threaten.  As Card implies, that union ends when the danger has disappeared.  This fictional event reminds me of the outcome of an all too real war: World War II.  After WWII, allied nations slipt abruptly, and US quickly became the emenies of the USSR (Russia) and vicsa versa. 

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Freedom!

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"[...] free verse also lacks rhyme" (Hamilton 239).

 No in-depth analysis for today, just a poem by Walt Whitman:

BEAT! beat! drums! -- blow! bugles! blow!
Through the windows -- through doors -- burst like a ruthless force,
Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation,
Into the school where the scholar is studying;
Leave not the bridegroom quiet -- no happiness must he have now with his bride,
Nor the peaceful farmer any peace, ploughing his field or gathering his grain,
So fierce you whirr and pound you drums -- so shrill you bugles blow.
 
Beat! beat! drums! -- blow! bugles! blow!
Over the traffic of cities -- over the rumble of wheels in the streets;
Are beds prepared for sleepers at night in the houses? no sleepers must sleep in those beds,
No bargainers' bargains by day -- no brokers or speculators -- would they continue?
Would the talkers be talking? would the singer attempt to sing?
Would the lawyer rise in the court to state his case before the judge?
Then rattle quicker, heavier drums -- you bugles wilder blow.
 
Beat! beat! drums! -- blow! bugles! blow!
Make no parley -- stop for no expostulation,
Mind not the timid -- mind not the weeper or prayer,
Mind not the old man beseeching the young man,
Let not the child's voice be heard, nor the mother's entreaties,
Make even the trestles to shake the dead where they lie awaiting the hearses,
So strong you thump O terrible drums -- so loud you bugles blow

 

If you liked this poem, here is a website that contains more of Whitman's poems.

EL150 Site

In All Fairness...

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"Fairness is a wonderful attribute, Major Anderson.  It has nothing to do with war" (Card 97). 

As the games in battle room get tougher, Ender seems to rise the occassion.  However, I noticed that in every one of Ender's chapters, he loses more and more of his identity.

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Shallow Complexity

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"Onomatopoeia [...] seems to imitate the sound it denotes" (Hamilton 221).

If you ever have trouble remembering what an onomatopoeia is, just think back to the sound effects present in sixties live action Batman show.  Bang!

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It is Clear that... I Am Awful at Writing.

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"Simplify.  Most first drafts are about 50% deadwood."

I was thinking about the reasons why people put fluff in their essays.  Perhaps it is a problem with wordiness.  Then again, the problem might stem from the writer's difficulty to organize his or her thoughts.  However, what if it is something completely different?  What if assumptions about books play into a writer's struggle with wordiness?  Ask an everyday person on what qualites they associate with books.  What do think they will say?  More often than not, the person will hightlight qualites such as extended lenght, intelligence, and perhaps long-windedness as tpyical traits of a book.  It is true that all books contain at least some intelligence (however limited it may be).  On the other hand, not all books are long and/or long-winded (though some sadly are).  The goal of books is to pass on knowledge.  Then what does a person gain from fostering assumptions about books?  I think the result is the afromentioned fluff present in some essays.  People associate intelligence with the long, boring diatribes printed in those imagined tomes.  So naturally, fluff begats fluff.  That is it for my rant, you can go back to watching TV now.

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Burned

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Flamebait

Defintion: A message board post, e-mail, or an internet article that is intended to spark massive amounts of nerd rage.

In a gamepro.com article detailing a recent interview with a Sony marketing VP, the VP said that Microsoft's Xbox 360 was in a down turn.  This pompted brutal message board discussion.  Releaizing the article's "flamebait" potential was high, Serbian Poppa said this:  "This article is just flamebait tho."

I chose this word because...it's funny!  When I think of the word "flamebait," I think of an object that is very flammable(like a chair).  Turns out, it's just a another word for anger.

Can You Feel It? Can You Feel the Nerd Rage? 

Noobs= ?

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pwn

Defintion: A complete victory over an opponent

In Darren Murph's engadget.com article, he alluded to a speed hacking competition with a very creative name:

"PWN 2 OWN"

This word is prime edvindence for our English language is deteriorating.  At first glance, it looks like an abbrevation of own; sadly, that is not the case.  Instead, the word is actually a mispelling of own.  I feel sorry for the poor souls that will utter this word in our (crappy) future version of English.

Pwnage is Just a Click Away

Money Talks

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M$

Defintion: often used as a derogatory for Microsoft.  The word is meant to imply that Microsoft only cares for the comsumer's money rather than their product.

In a recent post on gamepro.com, when gladiatory2k mused about the future of downloadable game content, he uttered this sentence: "What M$ did, in paying for 360 exclusive content, is define a definite difference between the PS3 GTA and the 360 GTA."

I chose this word because it just so stupid in a business context.  All companies want to achieve profit maximinization, not just Microsoft. That includes both Sony and Nintendo.

Urbanize Your Mind here

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Kaitlin Monier on Code : It is sad. The codes made me
Kaitlin Monier on War : That is interesting, I never t
Ally Hall on War : Ethan, I totally think you're
Dennis G. Jerz on War : That's right, Ethan -- nothing
Stephanie Wytovich on In All Fairness...: I agree with Gretta. I don't t
Greta Carroll on In All Fairness...: I don’t know Ethan, I think En
Kaitlin Monier on It is Clear that... I Am Awful at Writing.: The reason I put fluff in my e
Greta Carroll on It is Clear that... I Am Awful at Writing.: Ethan that is a really good po
Dennis G. Jerz on It is Clear that... I Am Awful at Writing.: Good points, Ethan. Academic
Angela Palumbo on My Big, Fat Sentence : I agree with Jessie. It is ni