Did You Ever Notice These Icons on the Dollar Bill?!?!

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/15-things-you-never-noticed-on-a-dollar-575113/

I was trying to think of an interesting post for this week’s blog. As I was checking my e-mail on yahoo this article came up and struck me as very interesting. This article outlines all the many symbols on the dollar bill that we never even notice. I find it so fascinating that something we use daily and look at all the time has so many interesting symbols. A couple of the symbols I had previously known about but many were new to me. I especially found that people noticed the small owl or spider in the corner near the one out of the ordinary. I personally think it looks more like a spider than an owl…but I guess everyone might see it differently.

I also never noticed that in the owls talons there is olive branches on one side and arrows on the other to signify war and peace two words that are used almost daily in the news. All the Latin messages are very inspirational and it’s hard for me to believe that there was so much thought put into the images on the dollar bill by people in 1782. I also was never sure how much it cost to make a dollar bill but it is interesting to know that it only costs 6.4 cents per dollar produced. It is so odd to know that there are so many things in life we use all the time and yet we know nothing about. From now on I am going to try to be more aware of things I use all the time that may have other symbols. With that being said… I should go look up the hidden meanings on all my coins...

Movie Analysis

I chose to analyze the movie “How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days” starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. Both Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson are famous in many movies therefore making people want to see the movie even before they know anything about it. There are many different lenses of rhetorical analysis that apply to this movie; but the one I feel is the most important is gender. The cast of the film is all women except for Matthew McConaughey, and the main theme is mistakes women make in dating situations. The genre of the film is that it is a classic “chick-flick” type of movie that is geared specifically toward women. It like all other "chick-flick" movies is very formulaic and predictable, yet so many women still like to see it.

The movie focuses on a woman that is trying to win over a guy she wants to date in 10 days as a project for Cosmo, the magazine company she works for. There are many themes throughout the movie. The themes all which pertain to women which is most likely what makes the movie so comedic for the women watching it. Some themes throughout the movie are dating, love, fashion, and the magazine Cosmo. The movie also is very stereotypical of women in that it assumes all women are really emotional and easily become attached to men. It also assumes all the different mistakes women make in relationships.

Pathos is one of the rhetorical strategies that most applies to this movie. There is a lot of emotional appeal throughout the movie to try to intrigue the audience to want to see more. Generally when trying to persuade an audience of all women pathos can be very effective because it has been proven that women think of things very analytically.

Overall this movie was effective at targeting the audience and gender of women that like romantic comedies. Other audiences would most likely not find this movie very interesting or entertaining.

Oh the Joy of Facebook!

As I sat down to think about what I my post for the week could be about I kept drawing a blank. Of course when I am stuck in situations like these I resort to getting on Facebook to see what is going on in the world of my friends. If I am ever bored the first thing I automatically go to is my computer because facebook is bound to entertain me somehow. Facebook always seems to have something interesting and fun to read and it is a great way to stay in touch with so many people. Without facebook I am not sure how I would keep up with all my high school friends. My friend and I were just discussing the other day about how little we would know about the people we graduated with had it not been for facebook. We also wondered how our parents stayed in contact with people before social networking and realized that they really didn’t. Without it I would not know very much about the people I met in high school and am now meeting in college. While it has its many benefits for those reasons it is what also contributes to my procrastination of assignments. I don’t know about you but I can spend hours on facebook without even realizing it. Hours just seem to fly by and I realize I have just been staring at a computer screen reading about my friends, taking dumb yet fun quizzes, and playing the many various game applications. Sadly it has almost become an addiction for me and I check it at least once a day (but generally much more often than that). If you are in the class and don’t have a facebook kudos to you, I would recommend never getting one because it is very distracting and it may become something you will want to check every day.

Journal #1: All About Me

As I sat down to think about all the things that make me who I am, I realized how hard it truly is to describe myself in only a couple paragraphs. As Dr. Seuss once said “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” I believe that everyone should be themselves and I am a very honest and open person. Some words that can be used to describe me are responsible, leader, independent, practical, loyal, and caring. I am a very self-motivated person that always strives to do my best.

I am an oldest child in my family, and I have many traits of an older child. I have one brother that is 16 years old, and I am currently 18. I am slightly younger than many other people that are freshman in college right now, as I just turned 18 in November. I have three dogs: one lab, and two pug/shihtzu mixes which I love to spend time with. I attended Canyon Del Oro high school in Tucson, AZ. I was born in Tucson, Arizona and I have lived here all my life. I greatly enjoy Tucson; however California is my dream location to live in the future.

I not a very daring person but I do enjoy many outdoor activities. Running and biking both are very enjoyable to me, I just don’t seem to be able to fit these activities into my schedule as often as I would like to. I also really enjoy spending time with my friends and family, whether it be just relaxing, playing board/card games, or watching a funny movie. My favorite board game is Monopoly and my favorite card game is Apples to Apples. My favorite types of movies are comedies. In my spare time I love cooking, baking, and trying new recipes. I also like traveling, and visiting new places; especially locations with beaches. I have never been on a cruise before, so I am hoping to soon experience that.

For much of my life I have known I really want to become a specialty doctor. Currently I am not 100% positive what type of specialist I want to be, and I am hoping to realize what type of doctor fits my interests best once I enter into medical school. Currently my major at the University of Arizona is pre-physiology. I am still in search of the medical school I would like to attend, but I will most likely attend a school either in California or Tucson. My favorite subjects in school have always been science and math which also makes medicine a great career choice for me. In high school I had two internships: one was shadowing an immunologist and another was shadowing a pharmacist. Both internships confirmed the fact that medicine really is the career field that interests me the most. At the University of Arizona I am currently involved in three clubs: the American Medical Students Association, Blue Chip, and the Physiology Club. I really enjoy meeting new people and learning more about my prospective career options from being in these clubs.