I selected this video, for one, because I love The Notorious B.I.G.’s music, and secondly because I find this song extremely inspirational. It does make several references to illegal drug use and violence, however I find Biggie’s drive, dedication and determination to make it to the top inspiring, and this song gives great insight as to some of the troubles he went through, particularly when things were at their roughest points and how he managed to pull himself out.
starts off the song with an incredibly powerful message. He says “this album is dedicated to all the teachers that told me I'd never amount to nothin', to all the people that lived above the buildings that I was hustlin' in front of that called the police on me when I was just tryin' to make some money to feed my daughters, and all the n***** in the struggle”

We are immediately able to understand why it is that he wants to make this song. This moment of logos suggests that Biggie wants all listeners to know that there are people that don’t understand his struggle. There are people who, although it may seem that they are doing the right thing by “calling the police on him” or trying to make him come to realization that if he didn’t start trying harder “he would never amount to nothin’.”

Typically, people are taught that such things like selling drugs, or “hustling” are bad things and that we should stray from doing these. Biggie wants us to understand that at some points in life, you have to do whatever it takes to get by. As listeners, we are forced to put ourselves into his shoes. Fortunately, most of us are blessed to never have to face situations like this. If you had a daughter and had no way of putting food on the table for her, what kinds of things would you resort to?

This moment of the song can also be ethos. Seeing that ethos is “what your audience sees in you,” Biggie immediately wants his audience to know that he isn’t some low down, scummy drug dealer. He’s a hard working, loving father who is willing to do absolutely whatever it takes to give his daughter a warm meal. He recalls “eating sardines for dinner.” He also states, “I made the change from a common thief, to up close and personal with Robin Leach.” Again, he is showing us that he was not blessed with having a great childhood and was forced to make some poor decisions to survive, but out of shear willpower and determination he came out on top.

Blog Post 2; Web 2.0 Video

This video was extremely eye-opening. It made me realize how much technology, especially the internet, is impacting my life and the entire human race. The creator of this video, Michael Wesch, used a fast paced, upbeat song and quick shot transitions to better get his point across. The song and speed of the video were only a few of his clever strategies that helped the viewers of his video come to a better understanding of how the internet is changing the way that we communicate with each other. At certain points of his video, the music rapidly grows and emphasizes more important parts. There is somewhat of a climactic feeling at three minutes and ten seconds into the video. At this point, he shows google.com, the largest search engine in the world. Shortly after, the music returns to a slower, low key beat because he has us read rapid successions of highlighted text which explains that we are the machine. WE are the ones who produce the material seen on webpages, and every time we click a link, we teach ourselves more material.
In addition to having an intelligent way of showing us the information, he has a great purpose behind the video. I personally was intrigued by the video because I have never realized how important the internet is in our lives. Every time we click a link on a webpage, which is billions of times every day, we take in more knowledge. We unconsciously re-teach ourselves material and unconsciously communicate with millions of people every day. Whether it be directly through facebook chat, face to face on Skype, or just reading up on an article on CNN, someone had to write, or type text for the rest of the world to read and someone had to create a program to translate it into hundreds of different languages. If you think about it, you have probably communicated with people halfway around the world! People who don’t speak the same language as you!

Quotation Reflection

“I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.” - James Michener

This quote is intriguing because for me, it is true and I also enjoy the pun. When writing, I often find that my first few drafts are not nearly as good as when I take time to review my writing and find mistakes. I feel that there is always something that can be changed to make my papers better and I can assure you that this paper will have several errors in it. It is always smart to reread and rewrite because there is always room for improvement. It is easy to find parts of my papers that need improvement and is also just as easy to pick out the strong points.

This quote has a direct sense of purpose. The purpose of this quote is to state that although you may not be a great writer, reviewing your work can always be beneficial. James Michener was a famous American novelist. James was most likely trying to communicate to his audience that even though he was viewed as a brilliant novelist, he still made mistakes just like the rest of us.

James Michener did not have a direct audience when stating this, however he did realize that he was regarded as a famous novelist, so there must have been a sense of speaking to a “lesser” audience. Michener’s audience and context is unique. There was not a set time or place that Michener was looking to say this, but his quote will be around for as long as humans are able to communicate. His audience can be just about anyone. He did not know that I was going to fall upon this quote in English class, and he sure didn’t expect me to write a reflection paper on it.

James was a good communicator and said this to influence young writers and to encourage people to strive to do the best work they can. He knew people would listen to what he had to say. His statement of purpose is simple, direct, and easy to understand.

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