My little world

The house I live in during fall and winter semesters is owned by a visiting professor who takes it back in the spring and summer. It's a lovely house. It was built by his ancestors, restored by him, and decorated by his wife with help from places like Pier One and Pottery Barn. With the fine furnishings and antique photos it looks almost like a museum, yet still very livable.

Summer is always an adventure. Finding a place to live can be difficult and finding a NICE place can be next to impossible. Provo landlords are more anti-pet than any other city I've lived in and I am not about to give up the one thing that makes me feel like a real person and not just some "student".

This year my sister and I found the most interesting place yet. Still in our ward boundary, within our price range, cat friendly, and makes our mom cringe. Perfect.

When you walk in the front door you are in our kitchen/bathroom. To the right is the stove, which is next to the bathroom sink, which is next to the shower, which CONTAINS the toilet. To the right of the shower is the kitchen sink and the rest of the normal kitchen accessories and appliances. The only other room is a bedroom/living room. The status of the room is determined by whether my bed is set up as a couch or not.

This apartment would be my definition of functional.

Every morning as I shower in my kitchen and grab my shampoo from the bin resting on the toilet tank, I think of how lucky I am, how hilarious this situation really is, and how I will do cartwheels and spin in circles in every room in the house when I move back down the street in August.

Functional is fine, but I miss wasted space.

Doubts

I dreamt of him again last night
of light and dark
of wrong and right.
First hope,
then fear,
regret,
relief.
He had my love,
but no belief.

RA: Source for Paper B

Source: Hansen, B. (2002, April 12). Cyber-crime. CQ Researcher, 12, 305-328. Retrieved June 2, 2008, from CQ Researcher Online, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2002041200.


The enthymeme for this article is that cyber crime should result in harsher punishment because it victimizes more people in more ways and causes more damage than it has in the past.

The audiences are law makers, law enforcers, and the general public.

Because this is mostly an informative paper, the credibility and logic are very highly developed, and emotion is less important. The credibility is established through good facts and solid research. Logic is shown through comparing cyber crime, its victims and perpetrators, to street crime and corporate crime and showing that there should be no difference in punishment. Emotion is used to gain the reader's pity for the victims.

Cyber crime is the fastest growing type of crime in the US currently, so it is definitely a relevant topic. The research was directly applicable to the topic and from reliable sources. This seemed to be a very typical magazine article. It was informative. There was a definite stance taken. The author wants stricter punishment for cyber crime.

RA: song

One Tin Soldier

by Lambert-Potter

Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago,
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley-folk below.

On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath the stone,
And the valley-people swore
They'd have it for their very own.

Chorus:
Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill,
Asking for the buried treasure,
Tons of gold for which they'd kill.

Came an answer from the kingdom,
"With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain,
All the riches buried there."

Chorus

Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses! Draw your sword!"
And they killed the mountain-people,
So they won their just reward.

Now they stood beside the treasure,
On the mountain, dark and red.
Turned the stone and looked beneath it...
"Peace on Earth" was all it said.

Chorus x2


I chose a war protest song because there can be no doubt that it is meant to be persuasive. One enthymeme for this song is Do not be quick to go to war with a perceived enemy, because often the cause is unjust, the result devastating, and the enemy may have made a better ally. There have been many audiences for this song. It regains popularity during wartimes and is a standard song at boyscout camps. The general audience aimed for is anyone who has not thought through the consequences of war. The goal is to open their eyes so that they will try to make a difference.

The song is a metaphor. The music is almost like a rock lullaby. It can be sweet and familiar while also empowering. Our discussion on style made me want to choose a song with one of the 3 original criteria. This song definitely uses distinction. The tone, stance, and clarity are consistent. the simplicity of the song makes it nearly impossible for anyone to misunderstand the meaning or the desired message.

The fact that this song has been used in protest of many wars shows its effectiveness. It has certainly not stopped war altogether, but the artists recording it were obviously effected by it and believe that it can continue to open eyes and inspire change.

The Gut Cannot Say Unto the Toe..

"I have no need of thee."

I won't try to claim that the 25 lbs I've gained over the last 3 months is entirely to do with the fact that I have an ingrown toenail, but there is certainly a correlation that cannot be ignored.

My toe got infected about 3 months ago. Just about the time my little sister got engaged. There was still snow on the ground so closed-toe shoes were necessary. Closed-toe shoes perpetuate infection. So does stubbornness. I refused to go to the doctor until I had done all that I could to get rid of the infection myself.

I cancelled my first doctor's appointment about 2 months ago. Right about the time that I had way too many midterms and papers to deal with. I soaked my foot under the desk as I plugged away.

I finally went to the doctor about 1 month ago. Just before finals, just after a break up, and exactly when I discovered that I had to enroll Spring term in order to graduate next year and I would not have enough money to pay rent after tuition. He gave me antibiotics and an appointment with a podiatrist.

I cancelled my appointment with the podiatrist about 3 weeks ago when the antibiotics began to work and Spring term was getting started and getting hectic.

I made a new appointment when the antibiotics quit working and I realized that I had gained 25 lbs in 3 months.

I am a stress eater. I have usually been able to balance my binges with some quality exercise. The last 3 months have been incredibly stressful and incredibly painful. I have spent them eating and sitting with the occasional limp to another location to eat and sit. Yes, I probably should have gone to the doctor sooner and followed through with the appointment process, but that doesn't change the fact that I would not have gained weight had my toe never been infected.

It's really nice to know that I am just a victim here.

RA - Visual Art

The enthymeme of Michaelangelo's David is that Florence could stand up to its more powerful rivals because David defeated Goliath.

The intended audiences were the people of Florence (in order to inspire hope and patriotism), and most likely the other states which may have had plans to attack the city. It was originally placed outside the city's government center facing out of the city.

The story of David and Goliath is well known. Most people at the time should have understood the reference. The statue not only depicts David as somewhat small, but also naked to show that he didn't have the armor and protection that Goliath had. However, no matter how vulnerable David may look, everyone knows that he came up victor and Goliath, in all his strength and shielding, fell and was killed by David.

Using this imagery for the city of Florence was a way to remind others that though small and vulnerable, Florence was a force to be reckoned with. They would not back down from a fight.

Was this argument effective?

I don't know the entire history of Florence. It is no longer a city-state, but it retains it's identity as Florence. The fact that this statue is a treasure not only to the people of Florence, but to the world suggests that it probably served its purpose sufficiently. Using art to make a political statement seems a fairly common thing to do. The fact that this statue was smaller than most at the time, and without clothing (especially armor), was a little different than the typical statue of a war hero. Considering the position of Florence to its possible enemies, the use of David and his appearance make perfect sense.

Mother's Day

Mother’s Day will be a little strange this year. Strange because my youngest sister, the one to whom I had to play mother for most of her childhood, has just found out that she is about to be a mother herself.

My little Joyce is going to have her own little one.

I wonder if I would be in such disbelief if I or one of my other siblings had achieved parental status first. It seems so unnatural that the youngest of five should be the first to get to this point. The oldest was married first and has a lovely baby bunny. The rest of us assumed that we would progress in the established familial order from there. Jason, Heather, Nora, Audrey, Joyce. Love, marriage, baby carriage, college funds, and so on.

We have been slowly accepting that there would be some exceptions to this. As I am nearly 30 and not in a relationship, I accepted that Audrey was dating seriously and that there was the prospect of her getting married before me, but no sooner than 1 or 2 years from now. So when Joyce announced her engagement, I was pretty much in shock.

Joyce has been dropping pregnancy hints for awhile now. Gathering these clues felt like a little game. When she finally admitted her state, it became an even funnier game. We made fun of her belly, we made fetus jokes. But when she sent me the text message from the clinic, “I heard its heartbeat”, it all became very real. A little too real. Joyce is still a baby about to have a baby of her own and I feel left behind.