Feb 2nd, Class Summary

Original Patton Speech:

War on Terror Mash-Up:

Today we straightened out the remaining kinks in tech-gizmo-gadget land, so if you are still uncertain about the workings of any of our tech toys ask for help and do this sooner than later.

All assignments will be listed on the "Stuff to Get on Top Of" module on the home netvibes page.

We observed that work samples can be made anytime, anyplace, with all sorts of creative possibilities and those students who show this kind of independent initiative will have more evidence in their portfolios than those students who don't and merely do what's asked of them, no more, no less.

Regarding observations: more is often more in this case. They need to become habitual; becoming aware of what you observe in class and writing those observations down and transferring them to the LR in the evening or after class is a good habit to get into now.

Don't be shy about posting to this blog if you want to develop and reflect on an observation you made, or you've discovered something intriguing and have something more in-depth to say about it which won't fit in the short space of tweetville.

I also did my best as a used-car salesman trying to convince you all that your lives will be better with a Netflix subscription because it's more efficient, cheaper, and logistically more sound than going to Blockhead. Alan mentioned a free-trial something or other, the tricky bastard.

We summarized the main point of "Reading and Writing Without Authority" in the course packet; those who go back and read the whole thing and reflect on themselves via observation, or on the blog, will be better for it. Not like those lazy Hun-students who don't, whom I pity, by God I do.

We read the written Patton speech and compared it to its cinematic counterpart. I just watched the modern day version and it's fascinating, rhetorically. Have a look (it's posted above) and don't be shy about sharing your thoughts on this here blog. This blog should likewise become a live, organic creature of sorts.

For Thursday we will talk about Platoon and FMJ all class long, so be prepared to defend your positions with regard to which is the better movie and why.

Your second blog post, due Wednesday at 10pm, I want you to pick a scene from either Platoon or FMJ and analyze it as best you can; be sure to use what you've learned from the reading assignments in Thank You For Arguing and "Writing About the Movies" in the course packet, and what you learned from the Patton speech.

Your first Rhetorical Analysis will be about the last scene in FMJ, the Mickey Mouse Song, so that is the only one that I want to keep off-limits for your blog analysis.

There are a lot of moving parts to this course, and always lots to do and ways to create evidence for learning that don't require my official command. The more active you are, the sooner the parts will all make sense as belonging to a greater whole, the more you will learn, and the more kick-ass your final grade will be.

Now you know how I feel.