a) sweetness, natural, fresh, melody, intensity, marriage, harm, innocent, baffled, tender
b) Elevation- intermediate and neutral
Sound- blithe and pristine
c) The sympathetic, blithe diction Jack Gilbert utilizes to describe a playful youth in his poem, "Once Upon a Time," exhorts a pristine, impeccable demeanour the young child possessed during his golden years.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Reading: Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy (pgs. 1-20)
The third book that I will be reading and discussing is Tony Dungy's memoir, Quiet Strength. Tony Dungy is a devout Christian whom played for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the seventies and served as the head coach for both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. Dungy's book is basically his life's story of football, perseverance, and faith.
In chapter one, Dungy foreshadows content later in his book by describing his departure from Tampa Bay after he was fired as the head coach for the Buccaneers. He describes the situation as confusing, yet he always relied on God for guidance and support. He knew God had a plan at the time, but he did not know where God's plan would lead.
In chapter two, Dungy describes his background with his family. He has several siblings and he had two extremely loving parents. He describes his mother as a teacher, both as an occupation and as a real life mentor. She was very athletic and most likely contributed to Tony's athleticism. Tony's father was different than his mother in certain ways, such as the sports he was involved in, but he was similar to his wife in the morals that they shared. Dungy's parents provided him and his brother and sisters with a strong base of faith and core values. Dungy describes differences he had with his siblings, as he was involved in different activities than the his brother and sisters. He played sports constantly, and his family and time period allowed him to play in far away places with people much older than him. Dungy truly belives that his parents gave him eternal value in the faith they gave him and the values they showed him day after day.
After reading this section of Dungy's book, I truly feel in line with Dungy's beliefs and opinions. He believes that his parents provided him the values he needed for his entire life. I agree with his statement. Dungy's parents seem to be the ideal parents in my opinion. I know that no parents are perfect, but Dungy's parents seemed to have all of the important things in life down perfectly. They not only loved their kids, but also challenged them and comforted them with the teachings set forth in the Bible. I personally look at my parents and believe I am truly blessed. My parents know how many times I may mess up a situation, but they always have the core beliefs and values with them when they instruct me. I have learned countless values from my parents. I also believe it is not an every person situation that a child will use the morals from their parents and pass them down to their own children. Personally, I believe I will pass down many of the important morals my parents taught me to my future children if God's future for me includes children of my own.
In chapter one, Dungy foreshadows content later in his book by describing his departure from Tampa Bay after he was fired as the head coach for the Buccaneers. He describes the situation as confusing, yet he always relied on God for guidance and support. He knew God had a plan at the time, but he did not know where God's plan would lead.
In chapter two, Dungy describes his background with his family. He has several siblings and he had two extremely loving parents. He describes his mother as a teacher, both as an occupation and as a real life mentor. She was very athletic and most likely contributed to Tony's athleticism. Tony's father was different than his mother in certain ways, such as the sports he was involved in, but he was similar to his wife in the morals that they shared. Dungy's parents provided him and his brother and sisters with a strong base of faith and core values. Dungy describes differences he had with his siblings, as he was involved in different activities than the his brother and sisters. He played sports constantly, and his family and time period allowed him to play in far away places with people much older than him. Dungy truly belives that his parents gave him eternal value in the faith they gave him and the values they showed him day after day.
After reading this section of Dungy's book, I truly feel in line with Dungy's beliefs and opinions. He believes that his parents provided him the values he needed for his entire life. I agree with his statement. Dungy's parents seem to be the ideal parents in my opinion. I know that no parents are perfect, but Dungy's parents seemed to have all of the important things in life down perfectly. They not only loved their kids, but also challenged them and comforted them with the teachings set forth in the Bible. I personally look at my parents and believe I am truly blessed. My parents know how many times I may mess up a situation, but they always have the core beliefs and values with them when they instruct me. I have learned countless values from my parents. I also believe it is not an every person situation that a child will use the morals from their parents and pass them down to their own children. Personally, I believe I will pass down many of the important morals my parents taught me to my future children if God's future for me includes children of my own.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
2.23 Diction Exercise
(a) Cruddy, bash, take-backs, shut-up, bubbles, concentrate, swear, not, weird
(b) elevation- colloquial and ribald
connotation- veracious and scrupulous
sound- bitter and caterwauling
concreteness- corporeal and precise
(c) The colloquial diction and caterwauling sound of Lynda Barry's, "Cruddy," allude to a sarcastic giddiness.
(b) elevation- colloquial and ribald
connotation- veracious and scrupulous
sound- bitter and caterwauling
concreteness- corporeal and precise
(c) The colloquial diction and caterwauling sound of Lynda Barry's, "Cruddy," allude to a sarcastic giddiness.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Reading: Juiced, by Jose Canseco (pgs. 229-284)
Although I still strongly disagree with his steroid usage, I found even more areas of Jose Canseco's life to be unrelated to steroid use after reading my next section of his book, Juiced. In chapter twenty one, Canseco describes several managers and players in the MLB whom he believes he has inside information regarding their images. Specifically, Canseco seems to value honesty as the most important trait in a manager. He sends out his respects to several players in the league as well mostly based on their work ethic. Contrary to the media's portrayal, Canseco had different views on several managers and players that many people would not expect.
In chapter twenty two, Canseco describes a return to his home country of Cuba. He detailed the experience as very enjoyable as he was able to bring joy to several people's lives in Cuba. Despite the changes in his home country, people gave Canseco respect that he did not seem to receive from people in his profession.
In chapter twenty three, Canseco describes perhaps the lowest point in his entire life. To make a long story short, Canseco was questionably charged with several accounts of abuse and eventually landed in prison. He describes the experience in jail as the worst in his entire life. Perhaps the worst effect the prison time had on Canseco would be his change in personality. Canseco writes that his personality shifted from easy going and nice to stern and overly serious.
In chapter twenty four, Canseco addresses more concerns the public has with steroids. He claims that steroids do not force psychological changes and or health issues as scientists have never proved any reasons to associate with the drug. Canseco details several players and describes their ties to steroids. Steroids were always used to increase the player's game, and Canseco never saw them as a risk if the drugs were used properly. Canseco believes there is always another reason behind a short life to a steroid user.
In chapter twenty five, Canseco describes the real reason he believed to be behind owner's discipline on steroid use. Canseco states that he was always an entertainer and one of the best athletes and baseball players in the world. Eventually, owners had to pay their players more and more money due to their increased production due to steroid use. The owners wanted more money back, so they decided to crack down on steroid use to decrease player's production. To crack down on steroid use, the owners sent a message to the entire MLB by kicking Jose Canseco, dubbed the godfather of steroids, out of the league. Canseco states that he believes the owners are selfish and do not care about the good of the game. Canseco ends the chapter by stating his beliefs that steroids will be in the game of baseball forever.
In the epilogue, Canseco tries to advocate steroid use to the reader. He describes benefits of steroids including sustaining life. He relates his personal health and life to encourage steroid use. He also aknowledges the fact that the analysts will always use biased to discourage steroid use. Overall, he tries to use his honest opinion to persuade the reader to use steroids.
After reading the next section of Juiced, I have learned that Canseco's book touches on several subjects unrelated to steroids. I believe that Canseco was put in difficult circumstances, such as his jail sentence, for reasons beyond his steroid use. I would never recommend steroid use, but I also believe that using the drug the way Jose used it would not cause the psychological, family, and personal life problems Canseco faced. I do not necessarily feel great pity for Canseco, but I do feel he faced some unfair circumstances. Other people could have been in Canseco's exact situations and had different, better results than him. I have always learned that I must never give a person a blatant reason to dislike me. Canseco's steroid use may have been one of these reasons. The public treated him unfairly, but he possibly could have relieved at least some of the criticism if he never used steroids. Of course, Canseco would disagree, and I look forward to hearing his opinion on my final section of reading in his book. In the epilogue, I found Canseco to be too abrasive. He directly advocated steroid use to his readers. Personally, as I have stated before, I will never use steroids. I believe Canseco is rather arrogant, perhaps not as much as the media portrayed him to be, but very opinionated. I would expect nothing less from Canseco to advocate steroid use as he used steroids and continues to use them today as far as I know. However, I personally wish his perspective was less biased in his book. In final analysis, I enjoyed reading about Canseco's perspective on steroids in his book, Juiced, even though I strongly disagree with his opinions.
In chapter twenty two, Canseco describes a return to his home country of Cuba. He detailed the experience as very enjoyable as he was able to bring joy to several people's lives in Cuba. Despite the changes in his home country, people gave Canseco respect that he did not seem to receive from people in his profession.
In chapter twenty three, Canseco describes perhaps the lowest point in his entire life. To make a long story short, Canseco was questionably charged with several accounts of abuse and eventually landed in prison. He describes the experience in jail as the worst in his entire life. Perhaps the worst effect the prison time had on Canseco would be his change in personality. Canseco writes that his personality shifted from easy going and nice to stern and overly serious.
In chapter twenty four, Canseco addresses more concerns the public has with steroids. He claims that steroids do not force psychological changes and or health issues as scientists have never proved any reasons to associate with the drug. Canseco details several players and describes their ties to steroids. Steroids were always used to increase the player's game, and Canseco never saw them as a risk if the drugs were used properly. Canseco believes there is always another reason behind a short life to a steroid user.
In chapter twenty five, Canseco describes the real reason he believed to be behind owner's discipline on steroid use. Canseco states that he was always an entertainer and one of the best athletes and baseball players in the world. Eventually, owners had to pay their players more and more money due to their increased production due to steroid use. The owners wanted more money back, so they decided to crack down on steroid use to decrease player's production. To crack down on steroid use, the owners sent a message to the entire MLB by kicking Jose Canseco, dubbed the godfather of steroids, out of the league. Canseco states that he believes the owners are selfish and do not care about the good of the game. Canseco ends the chapter by stating his beliefs that steroids will be in the game of baseball forever.
In the epilogue, Canseco tries to advocate steroid use to the reader. He describes benefits of steroids including sustaining life. He relates his personal health and life to encourage steroid use. He also aknowledges the fact that the analysts will always use biased to discourage steroid use. Overall, he tries to use his honest opinion to persuade the reader to use steroids.
After reading the next section of Juiced, I have learned that Canseco's book touches on several subjects unrelated to steroids. I believe that Canseco was put in difficult circumstances, such as his jail sentence, for reasons beyond his steroid use. I would never recommend steroid use, but I also believe that using the drug the way Jose used it would not cause the psychological, family, and personal life problems Canseco faced. I do not necessarily feel great pity for Canseco, but I do feel he faced some unfair circumstances. Other people could have been in Canseco's exact situations and had different, better results than him. I have always learned that I must never give a person a blatant reason to dislike me. Canseco's steroid use may have been one of these reasons. The public treated him unfairly, but he possibly could have relieved at least some of the criticism if he never used steroids. Of course, Canseco would disagree, and I look forward to hearing his opinion on my final section of reading in his book. In the epilogue, I found Canseco to be too abrasive. He directly advocated steroid use to his readers. Personally, as I have stated before, I will never use steroids. I believe Canseco is rather arrogant, perhaps not as much as the media portrayed him to be, but very opinionated. I would expect nothing less from Canseco to advocate steroid use as he used steroids and continues to use them today as far as I know. However, I personally wish his perspective was less biased in his book. In final analysis, I enjoyed reading about Canseco's perspective on steroids in his book, Juiced, even though I strongly disagree with his opinions.
Can a Video Game Determine Your Vocal Abilities?
I have always loved to sing to my favorite songs for as long as I can remember. I do not necessarily sing because I think I am skilled, but I enjoy singing to almost any song. However, I do try to improve on my singing, even if it is a failed effort to do so. I have a video game that is a few years old now called Rock Band for XBox 360 (They have a second and third version of the game out now). This video game has a microphone that players can use to sing to the rock songs. I have many favorite songs on this game and I always have fun singing along with them. The game determines your pitch and trys to match it to the song to see if you are on key. There are several difficulties ranging from easy to expert. The best part about the vocal portion of the game is the fact that it does not matter what octave you sing in as long as you are singing with the right pitch. At the end of each song, the game will grade your performance by giving you a percent (100% being the highest). My real question is whether or not receiving an excellent grade on expert difficulty (say 95% or better) can determine if a person is at least a relatively skilled vocalist. Being a fan of the game and music in general, I always like getting high scores, especially on my favorite songs. Personally, I believe the vocal portion of the game is built to decipher whether a person is in pitch or not. As a result, if a person can score well on a high difficulty, they most likely have a good ear for pitch in music. However, this fact does not necessarily mean that the person should pursue career in singing. There are many other intangibles and factors in singing and performing that the game cannot grade. Overall, I will always enjoy musical games, but I will not rely heavily to determine my vocal skills.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Reading: Juiced, by Jose Canseco (pgs. 207-228)
Despite my obvious differences in opinion with Jose Canseco, I found some areas in which I can understand him in the next section of his book, Juiced. In chapter eighteen, Canseco highlights the summer of 1998 in the MLB. Both Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire were chasing for the home run single season record. Canseco already mentioned the fact McGwire heavily used steroids previously in his book. Canseco also says how Sosa most likely used the drug as well. The two players did not receive much suspicion during the historical season and they brought the game of baseball back to life in America. McGwire ended up breaking the single season home run record with a grand total of seventy home runs. At the end of the chapter, Canseco describes how McGwire cleverly planted androstenedione in his locker to divert attention away from the fact he was actually on steroids.
In chapter nineteen, Canseco describes a difficult time in his life when he was forced to leave the game of baseball. As steroid suspicion grew, the league felt that they needed to make a statement to the rest of the players by getting rid of "the godfather of steroids," in Jose Canseco. Canseco describes how he was unfairly treated as numerous players were on steroids clearly and were showing this case in public. Canseco describes how common steroid use would be and how trainers and most owners knew about the drug use. Canseco also describes the fact that steroids did not give him the health problems he faced after his career. The health problems were never due to his steroid use and according to him, the steroids actually improved his overall health. At the end of the chapter, Canseco describes Barry Bond's massive transformation to break the home run single season record. People knew he was on steroids but did not know if he was taking them on purpose or not. Canseco describes how he believed Bond's steroid use was perfectly fine and should not have been seen as a scandal.
In chapter twenty, Canseco describes the benefits he saw in steroid use. Canseco stated that he believes steroid use improves and sustains life if used properly. He states how people have the opposite oppinion on believeing steroid use destroys a person's health. He describes at the end of the chapter how steroid abuse only happens with athletes of a different sport, such as power lifting. He notes at the end of the chapter that a person must be careful with steroids and can improve his or her health with correct usage.
After reading this section of Juiced, I found an area in which I can agree and understand Canseco. I believe he was unfairly kicked out of baseball because of the countless other people using steroids that were still in the league. True, Canseco helped to bring steroids into the game of baseball and educate people about the drug, but he never truly forced a person to take steroids. People were taking the drug in obvious places, such as the locker room. I think Canseco could really do nothing about the obvious steroid use around him. I also believe that the league should have kicked out all known steroid users if they decided to kick out Canseco. In addition, I had to disagree with Canseco when he described the health benefits of steroids. Personally, I can see a healthier lifestyle without steroids than someone who is using steroids for gains in athletics. In conclusion, I believe Canseco's circumstances were strange, but I believe steroids are not beneficial to a person's health as he would like to claim.
In chapter nineteen, Canseco describes a difficult time in his life when he was forced to leave the game of baseball. As steroid suspicion grew, the league felt that they needed to make a statement to the rest of the players by getting rid of "the godfather of steroids," in Jose Canseco. Canseco describes how he was unfairly treated as numerous players were on steroids clearly and were showing this case in public. Canseco describes how common steroid use would be and how trainers and most owners knew about the drug use. Canseco also describes the fact that steroids did not give him the health problems he faced after his career. The health problems were never due to his steroid use and according to him, the steroids actually improved his overall health. At the end of the chapter, Canseco describes Barry Bond's massive transformation to break the home run single season record. People knew he was on steroids but did not know if he was taking them on purpose or not. Canseco describes how he believed Bond's steroid use was perfectly fine and should not have been seen as a scandal.
In chapter twenty, Canseco describes the benefits he saw in steroid use. Canseco stated that he believes steroid use improves and sustains life if used properly. He states how people have the opposite oppinion on believeing steroid use destroys a person's health. He describes at the end of the chapter how steroid abuse only happens with athletes of a different sport, such as power lifting. He notes at the end of the chapter that a person must be careful with steroids and can improve his or her health with correct usage.
After reading this section of Juiced, I found an area in which I can agree and understand Canseco. I believe he was unfairly kicked out of baseball because of the countless other people using steroids that were still in the league. True, Canseco helped to bring steroids into the game of baseball and educate people about the drug, but he never truly forced a person to take steroids. People were taking the drug in obvious places, such as the locker room. I think Canseco could really do nothing about the obvious steroid use around him. I also believe that the league should have kicked out all known steroid users if they decided to kick out Canseco. In addition, I had to disagree with Canseco when he described the health benefits of steroids. Personally, I can see a healthier lifestyle without steroids than someone who is using steroids for gains in athletics. In conclusion, I believe Canseco's circumstances were strange, but I believe steroids are not beneficial to a person's health as he would like to claim.
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