. . . just articles to read for Tuesday. Read them and think about the questions that follow. We’re going to discuss them when we get back.

“You Are What You Own” from Guardian Unlimited
Where is the thesis of this article? What is the main point?
Who is the author writing for? How does he establish common ground with this audience?
Is this article persuasive? Can you find a more persuasive article?

“Would Orwell have Been a Blogger?” again, Guardian Unlimited
This is just for memorablename.
“The first time I used ‘weblog’, in a magazine story about Arnold Schwarzenegger in September 2003, The Observer had to place the meaning of this exotic term in square brackets. Six months later, ‘blogging’ was common. By 2005, some 60 new blogs were being launched every minute.”
This is interesting. I can’t remember where I read it, but someone commenting on a news story noted that communication technologies are becoming obsolete at an exponential rate: Movies lasted 100 years, video tapes around 50, DVDs around 15… How long will Blu-ray last?
Is the same thing is happening to our language?

“French Told to Try Smiling for Once” once more, from Guardian Unlimited
This just troubles me.

“Area Man Likes to Compare Circle of Friends to Cast of Lost” from The Onion
I know, not real news, but Klosterman does a whole essay on this phenomenon through The Real World. This is life imitating art. How does this fit with White Noise?

And finally, “Snips, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails” from Slate.com
Agree? Disagree? Does your opinion have more than anecdotal evidence? See if you can find more information on this if you agree/disagree.

[Edit: Okay, one more. “We’re no Slaves to Our Senses” from Spiked-online.com]

Keep the cute titles coming, Stallings.

I just found a great article [spoiler warning] on Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go by Margaret Atwood. (For those who have never read her, she is a brilliant writer, fiercely feminist, and her stories rarely have a happy ending. You have been warned; check a review of any book you wish to read that she has written.)

We will write our first essays tomorrow. If you would like a prompt, here are a few. Pick one:
1) Simulation and hyper-reality are prevalent in Don DeLillo’s White Noise. Explain how these concepts reflect an aspect of current popular culture, using one of your articles [or one you find tonight] as evidence of this.

2) Human cloning is a very complex issue―one which involves moral choices and the direct application of manufacturing to human beings. What does Ishiguro’s stance on the cloning issue in Never Let Me Go seem to be? How does he use pathos to argue this stance? During their time at Hailsham, the students are asked to create original art. Why is this? Is this part of Ishiguro’s argument?

3) Explore the theme of consumption versus creation in society using an article and one of the books -or- two chosen articles. Which is more prevalent? How does consumption or reflection factor into a person’s identity, according to the texts?

These essays require insights into the novels and the world around us and evidence from the texts to support your arguments. Do not write a personal editorial. This means no anecdotal evidence from your lives and no personal pronouns. Keep the tone formal; you have ideas, so do not hesitate to state them without qualifiers. We will do a bit of review before the exam tomorrow. If you have any questions, post them here or bring them to class.

for tomorrow, here are a few to get you started:

Good idea? Ads on your car?

Global warming computer error?

Space gas may have us redefining “life.”

“When people gazed at an illusory image of themselves through the goggles and were prodded in just the right way with the stick, they felt as if they had left their bodies” (NYTimes).

Oh, this is good. “How Ads Affect Our Memory,” from TechnologyReview.com via NYTimes
If you want, we can talk about this tomorrow. Chan Yun Yoo calls the two types of memory implemented in passing visual recall “implicit” and “explicit,” but Eco has discussed a similar theory before.

From the same NYTimes article as above, American Environics has completed a demographically relevant survey of Americans and their stance on the environment. This pdf shows the results. Environmental issues are huge recently; do you think this is a fad, or has America found a lasting concern for Earth?

San Francisco is planning to zone the skies above for residential use. This article describes a city commissioner’s plan to build helium (not hydrogen) filled dirigibles for folk to call home.
My favorite line:

Leaving at any other time will require the use of a small gondola that descends on a cable. However, that ride could get a little hairy, especially during the brisk Santa Ana winds that blow through here during autumn and early winter.”

Great article!

What do you guys think? Did Davis overreact?

I love this:

“I think those high school kids shouldn’t have been on his property,” Lynch said. “But in this country, life is valued over property, and if someone is fleeing your property or on your property but not threatening you, you’re not allowed to just shoot them.”

We will talk about rhetorical fallacies later, but this is a big one. His argument is that while the “kids shouldn’t have been on his property”, he should not have shot them because “life is valued over property.” He is applying his argument to one side only. It is reported in the article that Davis (the shooter) said,

“In a situation like that, you assume the worst-case scenario if you’re going to protect your family from a possible home invasion and murder.”

The Judge who made the top statement has redirected the intent from “protecting . . . family” to protecting property. Certainly shooting teens is a bad thing (apparently shooting a “pretty blonde high school cheerleader” is especially heinous; note the pathetic introduction and epithet), but was he unstable and shooting at whatever moved, or protecting his family? Was the amount of violence warranted? What do you guys think?