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October, 2012

  1. FALLing in Love With “Monster Mash” and “Pumpkin Pie”

    October 19, 2012 by Sam Lebold

    This week, it’s a fall extravaganza! I’m back to reviewing multiple flavors-two this week!  Both of them related in some way shape or form to fall, the current season (in case you weren’t aware). Firstly, I’ll be reviewing Monster Mash (a vanilla-based flavor with bits of Oreo cookie and a caramel swirl), and secondly I’ll be reviewing the flavor Pumpkin Pie (which is pumpkin flavored ice cream with chunks of pie).

    (Here’s an awkward looking picture of me eating my ice cream this week. Just what you were looking for, I know.)

    Personally, I’m a fan of all things fall, because it is my favorite season. I love the weather, the apparel, the holidays and the way the world looks. Thus, I’m quite excited to share with you two flavors that I think really capture the general spirit of fall, yet in two different ways.

    Now before you ask, yes, Monster Mash is indeed related to fall. The name alone makes the consumer think of monsters, the popular song, and, you’ve got it, Halloween! So while the flavor itself does not reflect fall, it’s more than related, and worth making the stretch of a connection, considering how good it was. I LOVED Monster Mash. The bits of Oreo cookie added the perfect flavor, so that the bland vanilla ice cream took on more of a chocolate cookie flavor. The swirls of caramel were sparse, but since I’m not a fan of caramel, I approve. No one at my dinner table that night (I usually enlist friends to help with my “research”… let’s just say they’re more than willing. For the research, of course) was quite able to come up with how the name “Monster Mash” related to the flavor, but we weren’t able to come up with anything. It seemed, rather, that Monster Mash was somewhere between a “cookies and cream” flavor and a “rocky road” flavor, neither of which have anything to do with monsters, fall, or Halloween.

    None of us, though, let this stop us from enjoying the flavor. The addition of caramel was a nice, unique touch, but not incredibly noticeable (which, depending on your outlook on caramel, could either be a really great thing or a really terrible one.)  The flavor as a whole was great, and I would surely recommend if to those trying to get a little sweet fix before Halloween.

    And speaking of Halloween, answer me this: what is the one symbol that most everyone in all of America recognizes for Halloween? Ding ding ding, we have a winner! Pumpkins and lack ‘o’ lanterns dominate the fall decoration spectrum, and because of this it seems like you can get most anything with pumpkin flavoring too. Pumpkins can be found anywhere and everywhere, from the treats we eat to the decorations we place around as fall approaches.

    However, let me just take a moment to say that pumpkins can be, well, sort of gross. Everyone has been there, trying to carve of pumpkin, only to be oddly fascinated by how difficult it actually was to scoop out the goopy, seedy and smelly center of the pumpkin. In their raw form, pumpkins are pretty far from appealing, so it’s funny how many things, come fall time, are pumpkin flavored, and how delicious they all are.

    BUT I digress… back to the important things:

    The ice cream flavor Pumpkin Pie was excellent.  I absolutely loved Pumpkin Pie, which gives me hope (after last week) that any or all of the “pie” related flavors weren’t as terrible as Apple Cobbler Crunch. The pumpkin flavoring was great (tasty and noticeable, without being too over-bearing),  similar to a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, if you’ve ever had one. The flavor itself was what I would describe as mild pumpkin with the perfect blend of seasonal spices, which added just the right kick to what might have otherwise been a boring flavor. The pie chunks were smaller than I expected after Apple Cobbler Crunch, and in this case, I wasn’t distracted by their different texture or seemingly out of place nature. In general, it did in fact taste like a home make pumpkin pie, just cold! So if you’re a fan of anything pumpkin, this flavor is worth seeking out and trying if you ever get the chance.

    (An artsy looking picture of “Pumpkin Pie” for your viewing pleasures)

    So, I guess, we’re back onto out trend of enjoyable flavors. Maybe Apple Cobbler Crunch and WPSU Coffee Break were simply blips in the system, only to be out-weighed by the hundreds of other delicious flavors the Berkley Creamery has to offer. I never doubted the Creamery, and I’m thrilled it’s still meeting the deliciously high standards I set for it at the beginning of this blog.

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  2. Presidential Candidate Y Eats Babies for Breakfast.

    October 19, 2012 by Sam Lebold

    “(Insert politically charged yet intellectually void Facebook status about the presidential debate cheering mindlessly for candidate X and arguing that candidate Y eats babies for breakfast)”

    While this Facebook status that I posted mid-afternoon Wednesday seems rather ridiculous and exaggerated, in all honesty, it’s not that far from what some of my so-called social media “friends” were posting in the aftermath of the presidential debate that occurred Tuesday night.

    After every televised political event, I find myself facing the same humorously frustrating situation: the ocean of Facebook statuses and tweets that are intellectually and politically lacking yet fervently and mindlessly supporting one candidate or another. These dissolve without a doubt into what I’ve come to call in my head a “useless comment war” in which both arguing parties post lengthy, emotionally charged responses meant to attack the other rather than argue their case, which neither side really reads. They go back and forth at it for a while, until the conversation dwindles because they both realize the other isn’t listening, and they haven’t really been arguing about anything the entire time anyways.

    So you see my dilemma. Am I frustrated by this, or does it highly amuse me?

    Well, the answer is both. I’m highly frustrated by this generation’s lack of ability to communicate intelligently over social media, and the lack of both rhetoric AND civic engagement. Social media was intended to heighten out communication abilities and build global connections. However, it has spiraled down into a world where people can post whatever they want at the drop of a hat, often leading to poorly formed and supported arguments, if there are arguments at all (most of the time, people simply sit and bash the opposing opponent, without any real basis behind their actions). There is absolutely no valid rhetoric being used here, and people are fooled into thinking that because they are posting “YEAH GO OBAMA” on their twitter account, or “Romney for the win!” on their Facebook page, they are civically engaged. In actuality, because there is no true argument or conversation occurring, no one is civically engaged by simply posting irrational and robotic statements. Where is the thought process or the motivation behind it all?

    I’ll give you a hint…

    (It’s not there.)

    While I find this incredibly frustrating (considering the potential social media has to be an incredible platform for political debate and engagement), it’s also quite humorous, because it’s all so pointless. I know this is generalizing, but you would be hard pressed to find anyone who changes their opinions based on the post of another. And we all know someone who gets WAY too into their Facebook politics, and we all find ourselves at some point glued to the screen watching it all play out. Let’s be honest, these people who engage in such Facebook and twitter “politics” are just making fools of themselves, and we all like to see someone else making a fool of themselves. It may sound horrible, but hey, it’s the truth!

    So what do I do? Do I fight the ignorance that plagues my various feeds after the debates, or do I sit back and enjoy the fight from the safety of my own computer? Decisions, decisions.

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  3. Straight Up Gangster

    October 19, 2012 by Sam Lebold

    After spending some time fooling around on the library databases yesterday in class, it’s clear to me just which topic I would like to do for my paradigm shift paper. I mentioned in last week’s WIP blog that I have an odd interest in Al Capone and the Mafia of the late 1920s and 30s. If you’ve spoken to me anytime between last week and this week about the paradigm shift paper, I’ll have probably told you how Junior year of high school, I gave a 30 minute presentation on the life of Al Capone. I honestly just find the “mob mentality” and the logistics of gang warfare fascinating. I promise I’m no gangster on the rise, just a history nerd who finds that specific trend in history particularly intriguing.

    So for the actual topic of my paper, I’d like to write about how there has been a shift in how the public and possibly the government views gangsters and gang warfare. In the ’20s and ’30s, the Mafia was, rightfully so, feared and oddly respected for their work. The police struggled to crack down on them, and in a sense they were untouchable (fun fact- after all the horrible things he did, Al Capone was finally sent to jail… for tax evasion. It was the only thing that they could pin on him). They were slippery with many connections, and everyone, including the government, gave them a wide berth. It was a hard life as a gangster, and only a few cut it– most steered clear. The gangsters of these days were also high-rollers, rich from the trade that they were partaking in.

    In the modern day, things are very different. The gangster culture has become so much a part of pop culture (between rap, fashion and language), that people have come to emulate and try to be like the gangsters. Their style of life is sought after by the younger generation it seems, rather than feared. It’s viewed as “cool” and attainable, rather than untouchable. Rather than steering clear of this risky and dangerous life-style, many run to it now, for the thrill. In contrast, many “gangsters” today are not the high-rollers that they once were in the ’20s and ’30s– instead, the term “gangster” is often synonymous with the word “ghetto”, which means that the term “gangster” now has a very different connotation than it once did.

    (^these guys are so cool, I couldn’t help but put them in my WIP blog)

    As you can see by the length of this WIP blog, the topic to me is simply fascinating, so I’m really looking forward to doing both the paper and the TED talk.

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  4. Penn State, Religion, and Gangsters, oh my!

    October 12, 2012 by Sam Lebold

    The title for this post makes it sound a lot more interesting than it actually is, and for that I do sincerely apologize.

    Thus far I haven’t given the newest assignment a lot of thought. I do, however, like the concept of a paradigm shift, and I’m excited to look into one. I think society’s obsession with certain topics or objects is quite fascinating, and to watch those trends over time says a lot about the human population as a whole.

    Aside from what we discussed in class as to what “beauty” has meant throughout the ages, I came up with a few other ideas as I walked back to my dorm Wednesday afternoon (and here I must cite Caleb for letting me bounce ideas off him and for putting down the stupid ones… thanks bud!):

    • Penn State through the Sandusky scandals and trials
    • How religion has become less centralized in America throughout the past hundred or so years
    • American gangsters and how they’ve changed since the 20s (yes yes, before anyone asks, I have an odd obsession with Al Capone… don’t judge me)

    Just a few thoughts that have been ruminating inside my head. Nothing has, however, really struck me, and I want to make sure that my topic is something that ends up really interesting me. So we’ll see!

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  5. So Very Wrong

    October 12, 2012 by Sam Lebold

    It seems to me, from past experiences, that the absolute worst way to persuade someone is to tell them that they’re wrong.

    Now, this can be done in a tactful way, because for the most part, with the correct usage of ethos, pathos and logos, in the right setting, someone can subtly realize that their current way of thinking may not be the best way, and often times, people do need to realize that they’re wrong. Am I right? However, no one likes to have this shoved in their faces. Isn’t it a lot easier to come to the conclusion of being incorrect on your own, instead of having someone scream it at you? Wouldn’t you be a lot more likely to agree with something or someone if they hadn’t made you feel horrible beforehand?

    Well, I encountered a situation like this twice this week, on two separate occasions pertaining to the same topic. The topic itself I’m not going to delve into, because it’s a controversial one. But the topic of the argument isn’t what I want to focus on, rather the presentation.

    This controversial topic is none other than religion. Next to politics, it’s probably the most controversial topic out there. Not only is there a wide range of beliefs, but people cling to their beliefs and opinions, and can be quite stubborn about these things. It’s quite hard to change someone’s opinions on their beliefs, as it should. What good is a belief is it switches every 5 minutes?

    So twice this week, I was walking on campus when I was confronted with someone who wanted me to change my opinions. Now the funny thing is, most evangelists are Christian evangelists. And I’m Christian. So you think it would be fine for me, and that I wouldn’t run into them, right?

    Wrong.

    So very wrong.

    Despite my very firm and prominent beliefs as a Christian, I was still rather forcefully approached, and even yelled at. Firstly by someone who was attempting to preach to the crowd of students hurrying past, and secondly by someone who was going up to individuals and handing them tiny pocket sized Bibles.

    Let me just say that I greatly respect what both of these people were trying to do. They felt so passionately about their “argument” or way of thinking, that they wanted everyone else to hear it and believe it too. That’s honestly great, and I mean that, especially because I share their beliefs. We could use some more seriously passionate people in this world. However the way these people went about it was so harsh and against rhetorical persuasion that the last thing you would ever want to do would be agree with them.

    The last thing anyone wants to hear is that they’re wrong, and that they’re going to be punished for it. This makes people resistant and hostile, and much more likely to respect you and take you seriously, because they feel like they’re not being respected or taken seriously. People simply stop listening when they feel like someone is just ripping them down. All ethos is lost in situations like these, because the person doing the yelling and screaming and fire and brimstone speech no longer has any credibility to the audience. And without ethos, logos and pathos are incredibly weakened. People don’t want to hear it when the speaker has lost their sense of ethos.

    Like the whole “rock the vote” issue that I blogged about two weeks ago, I was disappointed, because I saw another failed attempt at rhetoric, that had some potential to be really interesting and persuasive, especially because I stood behind the original argument of these people. When someone is passionate, they should get out there and share their opinions, because they have a voice and the right to be heard. It’s just sad when it’s such a flop, that in turn can actually divert people from agreeing, rather than persuading them.

     

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  6. I Apple Turned Over A New Leaf

    October 12, 2012 by Sam Lebold

    Sorry to disappoint, everyone, but we’re back to only one Creamery flavor to review this week.

    I know, I know, I’m slacking. But hey, I’m a college student, and I’m in Schreyer. What do you want from me? A decent title for my passion blog this week that MAKES SENSE? Who needs that when you’ve got a ridiculously bizarre, confusing and semi-unrelated title that was dreamt up by someone who thought it was hilarious?

    Anyway, I digress. Let me return to explaining myself for the week…

    One top of only reviewing on flavor, the flavor I’ll be reviewing this week came to me at the epitome of laziness. I didn’t have to pay for it, I didn’t have to choose the flavor, and I didn’t have to walk farther than the door to my dorm, Simmons Hall, in order to get this flavor.

    Judge me all you want. It’s free, and I’m broke, and I needed to write a blog.

    So let’s get started, shall we?

    The flavor this week is Apple Cobbler Crunch, which is another vanilla based flavor that had swirls of cinnamon and applesauce and chunks of pie embedded in the creamy goodness. Sounds perfect for fall, right? I thought so too, as I took a bowl and went to sit down and watch the Homecoming Parade this past Friday evening.

    My initial reaction was, that like almost every other flavor I had tried, Apple Cobbler Crunch was great. I’m personally a fan of cinnamon, so I enjoyed it, but it is certainly a potent flavor in the Apple Cobbler Crunch, so you may want to steer clear of it if you don’t enjoy the taste. The pie chunks were small and had an interesting texture and consistency, but they mixed it up, and I highly enjoyed that. In general, it seemed to me (on first impression) that Apple Cobbler Crunch was an interesting and unique flavor, different from all the other chocolatey, savory or fruity flavors offered.

    However, I’m sad to say that the more and more I ate of Apple Cobbler Crunch, the less I enjoyed of it. It grew to be too sickeningly sweet, and a very unnatural sweet at that. It didn’t taste like pie, and eventually the cinnamon became overwhelming. In a sense, it was a little too much. The concept was great, but the execution was subpar, and left me only consuming about half of the bowl.

    Disappointing, no? No one ever wants to waste a perfectly good (or perfectly not so good) bowl of ice cream, so it was a sad day for me. Luckily, I have a friend who readily finished the bowl for me, as Apple Cobbler Crunch is her favorite flavor. So, fear not: if you’re intrigued, there are still others out there who enjoy it greatly (enough to put up with the fact that I had already eaten from the bowl… the worst nightmare of a germaphobe, believe me, I know). If you’re an adventurous person, go for it, try it out for yourself. I’m certainly not here to tell you what to think or to form your opinions for you. It’s an appropriate flavor for fall, and you just might find it tasty.

    It sadly just did not meet the standards for the approval of Sam’s blog.

    Which, I know, is the ultimate goal of those developing the flavors at the multi-million dollar franchise that is the Berkley Creamery, to get the seal of approval from an awkward freshman just hoping for an A on her blog. Who wouldn’t have that as their ultimate goal?

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  7. Randy Pausch on Facing Death and Living Life

    October 5, 2012 by Sam Lebold

    I had an entirely complete other blog ready to go today, but I encountered something today that I would really like to blog about because of the fabulous usage of ethos and pathos by the speaker, which leads to helping convince the listener that what this man is saying is legitimate. (Thus I apologize in advance for the jumbled and disorganized mess that is this blog– I put it together at the last second. I just really felt the need to recognize both his argument and the rhetoric he used.)

    Randy Pausch was dying. Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Melon, where there is a popular tradition of giving a lecture that encompasses what you would say if you could only give one lecture to your students before you died. This, sadly, was a reality for Pausch. He would die, maybe within a matter of months, and he knew this, because of the 12 or so pancreatic cancer tumors in his body.

    Death is a difficult topic for anyone to discuss. No matter your beliefs about life after death or what happens when you pass away, it’s still an unknown, and it’s still something that makes us all a little bit uncomfortable. Except for Randy Pausch.

    Pausch gave his last lecture to 400 of his students at Carnegie Melon in 2008, and it went viral so quickly that he was soon featured on Oprah. He gives a brief summary of the main points here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1CEhH5gnvg

    I know no one has time to read it now, but I highly suggest at some point coming back at watching this clip. It’s only 10 minutes, and we’re all lying if we say we don’t spend at least 10 minutes on the internet doing something stupid. So watch it, it’ll really move you. I for one know that it definitely changed my outlook on life and death, and it brought me to tears.

    Pausch has the epitome of ethical legitimacy here. He knows exactly what it’s like to be faced with death, because he is actually dying. I’m sure it would be interesting to hear other professors speak about life and the important things in it, but they wouldn’t have quite the same perspective that Pausch has. He has to face death soon, and because of that he was forced to look back on life, and think about the truly meaningful things there.

    And boy did he. Even the brief 10 minute summary he gave moved me to tears, as it did for many in my Psych 100 class this morning, clearly demonstrating the use of the rhetorical strategy of pathos. Pausch stresses again and again the importance of family and the unimportance of material things. He encourages viewers to have fun, laugh, and live life to the fullest. Because he himself is about to die, all these statements take on new meaning for the viewers, and they tug at the heartstrings of everyone listening.

    And lastly, what Pausch said simply made sense. In the end, everyone will pass away, and your possessions aren’t going to matter, because they’re “just things”, as Pausch reiterates again and again. What will matter is the legacy we’ve left and the lives we’ve touched, the memories that we’ve made. Death is, in a sense, the great material equalizer, and Pausch makes this quite clear.

    His usage of all three rhetorical strategies blend together flawlessly that leaves everyone in the room looking at their lives and values and thoughts, and wishing to be a little more like the man speaking before them. He embodies everything he speaks about, which is an emotional yet logical argument that no one can really stand against. In a sense, he hit it out of the ballpark.

    To me, this is a truly successful argument if there ever was one.  So successful in fact that I’m thinking (but not sure about) switching my topic for my paper to Pausch’s lecture. It’s simply incredible, and I’m almost at a loss for words. I’m sure this blog doesn’t give his lecture any of the credit it deserves.

    Take the time, watch the video.

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  8. Don’t Shave Your Head and Sell the Hair for Money.

    October 5, 2012 by Sam Lebold

    For my rhetorical analysis, I most definitely want to do an advertisement, because I enjoy analyzing visual rhetoric just as much as written rhetoric, and I think advertisements can be a lot more whimsical than speeches or papers can (not always, just some of the time.)

    I’m pretty sure at this point that I’ll be going with the example I mentioned in class. The advertisement is televised and is a commercial for the company DirecTV. They, of course, want you to switch from whatever cable you currently have to DirecTV. It takes a sort of cause and effect approach with a great deal of humor and sarcasm. The commercial starts with someone who does not purchase DirecTV, and the commercial revolves around the horrific chain of events that will occur because of this (such as ending up having to shave your head and sell it for all the money you lost… all because you didn’t switch to DirecTV). It still gets me every time, so it should be fun to analyze.

    And I’m sure I’ll bring an interesting perspective to the analysis, considering I once was a DirecTV customer, and I absolutely hated the service, so I sort of see through all the advertisements. So we’ll see how this goes!

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  9. I Triple Dog Dare You

    October 5, 2012 by Sam Lebold

    Ah, and we’re back to the witty titles for my passion blog. This one, while not pertaining to any particular flavor, pertains rather to the quantity of Creamery ice cream that this girl consumed this week. That’s right, this week I’ll be covering not only one, not two, but THREE flavors produced by the world-renowned Berkley Creamery at Penn State University.

    Get pumped people, and make sure you’re wearing trousers with an expandable waist.

    Let me first and foremost say that I never intended to try three new flavors this week, it just happened. It happened because of my raw curiosity and desire for more, all under the guise of “research”.

    My “study” began this week when, as you should expect by now, I went over to the 4 flavor ice cream station of Pollock Commons and went to look over the flavors. I’m starting to think that I’ll need to go elsewhere, because they tend to have the same flavors each week. Espresso Fudge Pie and Alumni Swirl were both there, and as delicious as they were, I knew that it was of the utmost importance to stay true to my loyal fans and carry out my creamy duty. Because the other option was Vanilla, this left me with only one option: WPSU Coffee Break.

    Now wait for it, drumroll please…

    WPSU Coffee Break was the first flavor I tried that I didn’t like.

    *GASP* “She said what now?!”

    In all sincerity, we knew this day would come, sad as it may be. Now don’t get me wrong, it tasted all right, but to me it seemed sort of like a knock off version of Espresso Fudge Pie, and not a very good one at that. It tasted like coffee tasted, rather than how it smelled, and there was less fudge. And I love fudge. It was simply a lot more bland, and less memorable. I was left thinking “what really is it’s claim to fame? What makes it special?” Now maybe I had high expectations, but in my humble opinion, it just didn’t live up.

    That, and I had already used the words “Coffee Break” in a blog title.

    So.

    Another flavor, agreed? Agreed.

    So Tuesday rolls around, and I venture over to my favorite little station at Pollock. Quite pleased, I immediately gravitated towards “Peanut Butter Swirl”. Right away, I started thinking of clever titles for the blog that dealt with the fact that last week’s flavor was a “swirl” as well. But we’ll talk about why that’s no longer the case later.

    Peanut Butter Swirl  rebuilt my hopes in Creamery ice cream after the previous days disappointment. It was simple, but deliciously simply and pure. It was a vanilla base with thick swirls of peanut butter through it, and nothing else. Shocking really, based on the name. Anyways, the peanut butter tasted authentic and rich, and the whole effect was rather smooth and creamy. For any peanut butter lovers out there, I would highly suggest it.

    Now, on Wednesday evening, I was all set and ready to blog away, when curiosity killed the fat, ice-cream stuffed cat. I wanted to know if they had put out any new flavors, or if they were going to keep recycling the same ones here at Pollock, forcing me to move somewhere else. When I saw a new flavor, Cookies and Cream, I convinced myself that I had to have it.

    For research purposes.

    I sense a downward spiral here…

    But back to the good stuff. Cookies and Cream was absolutely delicious. It’s interesting, because I’m not usually a fan of vanilla based flavors, but the two I tried this week (WPSU Coffee Break excluded) were both vanilla based. I think the vanilla at the Creamery is just too good. The cookie bits were moist and chewy, and quite plentiful. The flavor itself was not incredibly original, for it tasted very much like an Oreo. Albeit a very delicious, rich and hearty Oreo. Cookies and Cream was beyond sweet, and is worth trying if you’re a fan of Oreos or other chocolate based cookies.

    Three flavors in one week was, in a sense, intense. But I’m glad I did it, because I feel like I needed the experiences I got this week, and I need to gain more perspective than one flavor a week could provide. In short, three good flavors. Some better than others, but all will surely keep you going back for seconds.

    …Not like I did.

    Nope.

     

    …I’m going to get fat.

     

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