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Posts Tagged ‘wk6’

  1. Castle

    October 10, 2013 by Melissa Shallcross

    Half way through! And #5 is…………

    #5 Castle

    "Tricia Halloran, Castle Music Supervisor Blog."

    “Tricia Halloran, Castle Music Supervisor Blog.” ABC Music Lounge. 18 Jan. 2013. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

    Castle is the most recent show that I’ve started watching that made it to my top ten, and relatively high at that! This ABC show is another comedic crime drama, much on the same terms as shows like The Mentalist and NCIS, where the main conflict, action, and plot to each episode is focused on solving some type of crime. In Castle’s case, these crimes are detective cases given to the New York Police Department (NYPD).

    Every crime show has some sort of difference that makes it unique and stand out among the rest, whether that be Patrick Jane’s ability to analyze people and behavior’s in The Mentalist or the unique setting of NCIS as it deals specifically with naval crimes. Castle‘s uniqueness revolves around Richard Castle’s profession of a murder mystery novelist who invests his time in the NYPD, donating his ability to think like a murderer.

    Castle is full of humor, from the occasional wacky crimes, the way Richard Castle acts around different people, and his home life with his daughter and mother. And what’s a TV show without a love interest? The way funny ways Castle acts on his feelings towards Kate Beckett, the NYPD detective he initially shadowed for inspiration for his books, is the main side-story throughout the seasons.

    I personally love this show because of the unique character of Castle, writing books and solving crimes. Who hasn’t wondered at the sanity of people who make up the story lines for horror books or crime shows? Castle puts a spin on that idea, though, as Castle saves lives with his somewhat twisted, criminal, and somewhat wacky thoughts.

    The side story with his daughter and mother at home is also one of my favorite parts of the show. Maybe it’s just because his daughter is around the same age, but I find her easy to relate to. Her normal life and reactions to her dad’s adventures makes the show much more believable than those that just leave out the main characters’ personal lives.

    And of course, the cases are always dramatic and keep your attention!

    So, even though I only discovered Castle about a year ago, it’s made it pretty high in my top ten!

    Are there any shows you’ve recently started watching that you would say would make your top ten?

    Category Passion | Tags: ,,,,, | 2 Comments

  2. Ted Cruz

    October 4, 2013 by Melissa Shallcross

    Most likely, those of you who are taking some type of economics course or have read a national newspaper lately have heard something about the government shutdown that began this Tuesday, October 1st. A government shutdown involves temporarily stopping the funding and workings of all services deemed to be unnecessary, or “non-excepted”, until Congress passes a bill to help re-establish how to fund the government (Plumer).

    Beginning Tuesday, September 24th,  and going into Wednesday, Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas performed a 21 plus – hour filibuster-type appeal in the effort of gaining support against a proposed government spending bill that would continue funding for ObamaCare.

    I would like to state that I am not giving my opinion on these proceedings and about any political actions connected to the government shutdown or ObamaCare, I am merely analyzing the rhetorical devices Cruz used in his marathon speech.

    Saenz, Arlette. "Ted Cruz's Obamacare All-Nighter Ends After 21 Hours." ABCNews.com. 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2013.

    Saenz, Arlette. “Ted Cruz’s Obamacare All-Nighter Ends After 21 Hours.” ABCNews.com. 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2013.

    To begin, Cruz opened his speech stating the cause of his action: to rise up against    ObamaCare for people across the U.S. who are suffering from the effects of the    health care program. Here and throughout his whole speech, Cruz uses the appeal    of ethos. He is a man of position within the government, prompting respect from    many of his listeners. He also portrays the impression that he truly cares about the    American public, further prompting them and other officials to hear him out  because he comes across as a man with a good character who means well. He  further connects with the American people as he reads off tweets from people in  support of his effort, having utilized the hashtag #MakeDCListen.

    He then appeals to pathos, similarly, by stating that by performing his long speech, he hopes to portray the voice and reasoning of the American public who have been affected negatively by ObamaCare and persuade Congress against refunding the health care initiative. The audience, the American public especially, are able to connect with Cruz, as they see how determined and passionate he is on defending them even though he does not know them personally. As he states in the beginning of his speech, he intended to speak against the bill for as long as he could stand, very openly showing his passion and sacrifice he is willing to give to his effort.

    Cruz also uses logos within his speech, using examples to support his reasoning that ObamaCare is harming people and businesses around the country. One example he uses is the restaurant White Castle. He states statistics of White Castle’s decreasing rate of opening new locations each year because of ObamaCare. Facts like these help give evidence to support his argument and get his listeners to consider his, businesses’, and the general public’s view of the health care program.

    All in all, Cruz’s speech, although not a true filibuster as it did not delay the proceedings of the bill, was a symbolic speech that was encompassed by civic engagement. Cruz felt a civic responsibility to voice his, and many Americans’, opinions on the bill. He saw an issue that he felt needed to be addressed and brought it to more people’s attention in order to try to better his country. I believe he was successful at this. By performing one of the longest speeches on the Senate floor, he received attention for his cause not only from fellow Senators, but also from news reporters and fellow Americans, getting the chance to get his argument out into the world. It worked. His speech, full of everything from examples for fighting for his cause to reading bedtime stories to his daughters, worked its way to one of the top news stories on the web.

    I consider Cruz’s filibuster-type speech a good example of civic engagement. You can follow the link at the bottom of this post to see videos of his speech (pieces of course). Even though his speech did not delay the proceedings of the bill, do you think his filibuster-type speech directly impacted the government shutdown?

    Washington Post: “The Best of Ted Cruz’s Marathon Speech”

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/09/24/the-best-of-ted-cruzs-filibuster-so-far-in-3-minutes-video/

    Works Cited:

    Plumer, Brad. “Everything You Need to Know About How a Government Shutdown Works.” The Washington Post. 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2013.

    Category RCL | Tags: ,,,, | 3 Comments

  3. Mythbusters

    October 4, 2013 by Melissa Shallcross

    Here comes my nerdy side…………

    #6 Mythbusters

    mythbusters

    “Denver Museum of Nature and Science.” Mythbusters: The Explosive Exhibition. Discovery Channel. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. 

    I’m pretty sure most people have at least heard of Mythbusters. It’s that Discovery Channel show where the hosts tend to blow things up in the name of science. Well, to be specific, they research tons of different myths, anywhere from slipping on banana peels to dropping coins off the empire state building and even rolling giant LEGO balls found on popular internet videos, then they test them to see if they would be confirmed or busted. Then, one of my personal favorite parts of the show, if they bust a myth, they go back and try to edit the procedure and materials in their own ways to try to replicate the result they were looking for.

    This is another long-running TV show that I’ve grown up with. It started back in 2003 and had its 10-year anniversary episode earlier this year. As a little kid, I never quite understood all of the scientific aspects of the show, and I honestly don’t understand them all now either! I remember episodes where Adam and Jamie, two of the hosts, did things like trying to break the surface of the water with a hammer before someone plummeted into it to decrease the force of impact. They’d explain what they predicted, how they made those predictions, and why. A lot of scientific jargon for a little kid. However, the show always had, and still has, a humorous touch in it that kept me from getting too bored or confused. Silly animations and the funny interactions between Adam and Jamie, and themed episodes like the Christmas and pirates specials, were all always entertaining to me. So, as I got older and the scientific information started making more sense, I really began to appreciate and engage in the show more.

    Nowadays, with more experience in science and design, I’m able to enjoy the show so much more. I’m always so interested in what the end result will turn out to be in the experiments and I better understand the process they use to research and design their tests. Plus, it’s always really entertaining to see the hosts get really involved in the myths and competitions between each other!

    I know there’s a brand new zombie special with a character from The Walking Dead in it in case any of you are fans of that show!

    Have you ever seen Mythbusters or can think of a myth they should test out on their show?

    Category Passion | Tags: ,,,,, | 3 Comments

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