My Thoughts On Comments

The Dress controversie has been criticized for being an unimportant distraction from the real world problems surrounding the country and praised for revealing the subjective nature of seemingly objective reality. 

Comment A: 

While this comment doesn't address the dress situation,  I still find it reasonable.Barbara criticizes our culture and the media and brings up valid points about how we are being desensitized to gun violence. She makes her point without being too hard on the phenomenon.  

1.  The commenter is anxious about society's numbness to gun violence and fears for the future of the country.

2. I believe that the commenter is passionate about gun control and awareness because she is commenting on it in an article about a dress.

Comment B: 

This person also criticizes the hype surrounding the dress, yet I believe the comment lacks credibility. Chetty1 makes irrelevant outlandish political accusations and even refers to "the Moozelims". His offensive language makes him a less credible source.  

1. The commenter is expressing his own fears for the country that have nothing to do with the dress. 

2. This person seems to be pretty upset with the state of things and wants to share his anger by ranting on random cites.

Comment C: 

I find Sadie Slays to be a credible commenter not only because I agree with her but also because she references past articles and solid reasoning to back up her claims. 

1. Sadie Slays seems to be genuinely excited about the material and the information it provides. 

2. I think Sadie Slay is a behavioral scientist and draws conclusions from her analysis of the public. 

Comment D: 

Steven W's comment is nonsensical and unnecessary and therefore lacks credibility. If people were having the discussion in real life and he replied like that he would seem like a crazy person. 

1. The commenter doesn't seem to be particularly anxious or excited.

2. The commenter seems to be annoyed with the unimportance of the issue. His mocking tone suggests his annoyance. 

I used comments from the New York Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/28/business/a-simple-question-about-a-dress-and-the-world-weighs-in.html?_r=0 

My Controversy

Very few things can simultaneously bring strangers together and tear families apart in the way politics, religion, money and "The Dress" can.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/26/us/blue-black-white-gold-dress/

"The Dress" phenomenon was covered by media outlets ranging from CNN to People Magazine. A New York Times headline referred to the garment as "the dress that melted the internet".  The Dress sparked contentious debate on social media, in classrooms, even in the scientific community. 

Of all the incredibly important issues of 2015, why did I choose to write about something so insignificant as the color of an ugly dress?  In the face of police brutality, political and racial unrest, and global tensions; everyone was talking about a piece of clothing. There are many reasons why I'm fascinated by The Dress.

At face value, its shocking and saddening that our culture was so focused on this seemingly insignificant argument while so many other things were going on. ISIS is out there and we're arguing about the COLOR of a DRESS. However, I believe The Dress reveals important information about  the nature of human interaction.

The Dress symbolizes the polarizing effect of controversies and serves as a visual representation of the human inability and unwillingness to see another's point of view. The dress represents the cut and dry "its either black (and blue) or white (and gold) stance taken on issues. I used to believe I was an open-minded person before I encountered the dress and experienced the frustrating confusion and anger when people disagreed with how I saw it. I was unable to see it as anything but black and blue. No one could convince me otherwise, no matter how long I examined the photo. What should have been an objective fact instead was contested as a matter of opinion. I was shaken when intelligent people who's opinions I usually valued and trusted saw something completely different than I did. My entire family saw white and gold, was I crazy or color blind? 

The Dress embodies what a controversy does and how it affects people individually and society as a whole. I learned a lot about the subjective nature of our own individual reality an and my own reaction to intellectual conflict. 

Calendar Reflection

Although I've only been in college for a week, I've already wept repeatedly over my poor decisions when it comes to time management. My activities and classes felt like a thousand tiny legos scattered across a vast room and I was stumbling and stepping on them.

Anderson, Ryan "5 Reasons Legos Are Actually Truly Awful"  01/29/13

 I'm enrolled in an average amount of credits (15) and I'm in a sorority but thats the extent of my activity. I don't know what I do all day besides complain that I'm not getting anything done and get lost on my way to class. On paper it appears that I have ample free time to get things done but in reality I've been so overwhelmed by all the assignments, due dates and reading that I accomplished almost nothing all week.

This assignment made me realize that if I manage my time effectively and carefully plan my study schedule I can maintain a balance between my social life and academics. I have to make sure to designate blocks in my schedule dedicated to focusing on homework and studying. It is up to me to create structure and a clear cut routine in my life to avoid feeling stressed out and sleep deprived.

donut_p, "My LEGO Calendar- 2006/12" 12/26/2006, some rights reserved via Flickr 

Reflection:

I visited and commented on http://engl109hblog.blogspot.com/2015/08/calendar-reflection.html?showComment=1440885232404#c718592112473000189  and http://cmatheson109h.blogspot.com/2015/08/calendar-reflection.html?showComment=1440885452753#c100174632337668974. I realized that I may be too idealistic when it comes to setting my schedule.  I need to focus on still doing my work even if I miss the desired time frame, I can't get too discouraged and waste even more time. I think this assignment is important because I learned that I need to be both flexible and structured in my schedule.

My Writing Process

Cindy (fbforbill), "Regret"10/15/2013 

Due to a widespread lack of stress filled all nighters and tearful regret, many college students are asking themselves "how can I make my life more difficult and my writing process less efficient?". As an expert in the field of sleepless nights and emotionally taxing academic routines, I'm here to explain why my writing process is the solution that counters any sort of productive activity whatsoever.

I would consider myself to be a fabulous procrastinator. I've really mastered the art of ignoring every rational fiber in my being to curate a sense of extreme panic and desperation that, while dormant, grows exponentially as the deadline draws nearer.  

What approaches do I use to achieve the exceptional inner turmoil that accompanies my procrastination? Many students have trouble mustering the ability to deny common sense and the concerns of their teachers and peers to achieve the level of procrastination that I can so easily reach. My secret is that I am able to deceive myself into believing that I am following the writing approach of a "Heavy Planner" while in reality I make nearly undetectable progress. Here are some helpful tips to maximize your vulnerability to a panic attack and minimize any productive behavior.

1. Begin by thinking about what you are going to write for a majority of the allotted deadline, spend around 60-70% of your time attempting to come up with a funny title. 
2. Make sure to write all the ideas you come up with in and unlabeled list on your iPhone notes, using the most vague terms possible . Include as little context as you can and spend a good 10-15% of your precious time trying to decipher what you wrote before realizing you're actually reading the JD Power and Associate's list of highest ranked midsize luxury sedans of 2015 instead of your list of ideas.
3. Enjoy the nascent feelings of panic that accompany the realization that you have no clue how seemingly meaningless phrases such as "cutting eyebrows off" and "shoes with ice at the bottom- eternal ice skates" relate to your topic before realizing you wrote your ideas at the bottom of "JD Powers and Associate's list of the highest ranked midsize luxury sedans of 2015" after all and that you've been reading your list of failures again.
4. Add the essay to your list of failures. 
5. Justify the fact that you're watching another Law and Order marathon by telling  yourself you need to brainstorm more ideas. You really earned this hiatus from the exhausting process of achieving nothing in such an ample amount of time. Revel in the concern for your wellbeing that your classmates feel. 
6. Let the overwhelming feeling of alarm and shame flood over you as you realize just how much time you have wasted and finally begin your paper. Savor the hot tears of frustration and self loathing as they pour down your cheeks. 
7. Hastily examine the paper for the first and last time as you submit it. 

This writing process is the most successful way to make the easiest assignment unbearably unpleasant and time consuming. My time-tested technique is the best way to waste your own time and achieve a unique form of self-inflicted mental agony.


My reflection:
I visited and commented on  http://adutcher109h.blogspot.com/2015/08/my-writing-process.html?showComment=1440820686588#c677315822074535782 and http://deweydecimatrix.blogspot.com/2015/08/my-writing-process.html?showComment=1440877845593#c7527127658076578419 . I really enjoyed reading about my classmate's writing processes even though it made me feel even worse about my horrible procrastination habit when I would see how many posts they had compared to mine. I realized that I don't procrastinate because I dislike writing (I actually really enjoy it). I procrastinate because I have a perfectionistic attitude and I overthink my every move. I'm definitely going to work on just relaxing and working in a timely manner so that I can have time to edit my work. I want to be able to revise and feel more confident about what I submit.