Throughout the course of this class, I have learned how to extensively research a particular topic, and then later translate it for the reader in various settings. For my E-Portfolio, I am considering revising my first Research Essay, to better cite my sources, and adding a bit more to my WordPress Blog that served as my second research project. I will try to do these things within the next week, after my finals in my other classes are finished. I have missed the chance to have a conference, however, though I would like to talk about the second research project, and have it reviewed, since it unique in that it is not a simple essay, but a website.
Blog Entry 8: Research Project
I have been working on my second research project for roughly two weeks now, and I must say it is going fairly well. While I certainly feel more comfortable writing papers, I was detered from the daunting 12 page essay, having already written a 10 page one and not feeling up to repeating the same topic. Instead, I have decided to use a different type of medium to create my next project; a WordPress blog.
Having already become familiar with the WordPress website through means of writing these blog entries, I created a blog showcasing the American culture’s stance on food related taboos. The website will feature animals America refrains from eating, as well as food related activities that Americans engage in that are considered taboo by other cultures. I have incorporated pictures, facts, and links to outlying sites, in order to make the blog both informative and engaging.
One thing I wish I might have known when writing my first entry is an idea introduced to me by a fellow peer, which is an experiment of sorts. As I work in a Deli, I am conducting an experiment on food taboos where I sample out pieces of Lebanon Bologna, which in reality is an entirely beef based bologna, but instead I tell the customers that the bologna contains horse meat, and then gauge their reactions. I am very excited to see the results of this experiment, and to post it on this new blog!
Blog Entry 7: Works Cited
“Keeping The Faith: Religious Taboos In Islam.” CNT Traveler. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2013. www.cntraveler.com/travel-tips/travel-etiquette/2010/11/Keeping-the-Faith-Religious-Taboos-in-the-Middle-East. This website details what items are taboo to consume in the Islamic faith, as well as what times some of them may be exceptions upon. This can be useful for the religious taboos section of my project.
“Leviticus 17 / Hebrew – English Bible / Mechon-Mamre.” Bible and Mishneh Torah for All – Jews and Gentiles / Mechon Mamre. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2013. http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0317.htm#10. This website has a section from the Torah, the Jewish book of faith, and details what is taboo for Jewish peoples to consume. Very helpful for the religious taboos section of the project.
Riess, Jana. “What’s Not on the Mormon Menu – For Dummies .” How-To Help and Videos – For Dummies . N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Sept. 2013. http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/whats-not-on-the-mormon-menu.html. This website details what Mormons can and cannot consume, as per their own faith, and also has information beyond food. This will be highly useful in the religious taboos section of my project.
Blog Entry 6: Works Cited
Haidt, Jonathan, Silvia Helena Koller, and Maria G. Dias. “Affect, Culture, And Morality, Or Is It Wrong To Eat Your Dog?.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 65.4 (1993): 613-628. Print. This thoughtful and in depth article cites a variety of reasons why human beings refuse to eat companion animals, such as dogs and cats. An excellent resource I can use while describing the food taboo against pets.
Serpell, James. “After Horse Meat Scandal, Why Is Some Food Taboo?.” NPR. National Public Radio. NPR, Boston, Massachusettes: 19 Feb. 2012. Radio. In this interview, James A. Serpell, a college professor and food taboo expert, explains to NPR why some people get squeamish around certain foods, following the Ikea Horse meat meatball scandal. This can be used in the section where I describe why Americans dislike eating horse meat.
Gonyea, Janelle. “Pica–do you know what your patients are eating?(Issues in Renal Nutrition: Focus on Nutritional Care for Nephrology Patients).” Nephrology Nursing Journal 1 Mar. 2007: 64. Print. This Medical Journal is an in depth look into Pica, a disorder where people have a tendency to eat generally inedible items, such as glass or paper. This disorder is considered taboo and can even have it’s own section within my research project.
Blog Entry 5: Works Cited
Alberts, Jenna. “The Cultural Food Taboos of the United StatesCooking Recipes Food.” Cooking Recipes Food. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. http://cooking-recipes-food.com/the-cultural-food-taboos-of-the-united-states/. On this page, there is a very brief layout of various ingredients people within the United States refuse to cook with. Although this page lacks details on each category, it presents me with a list of food items I can investigate further with other sources. I can then use these items within my project to show the viewer what the United States feels is taboo as far as food is concerned.
Andersen, Kurt. “Celebrity death watch; Could the country’s insane fame fixation maybe, finally–fingers crossed–be coming to an end? One hopeful sign: Paris Hilton.(THE IMPERIAL CITY).” New York 3 Apr. 2006: 36. Print. This magazine article by Andersen has a section that describes various things the American culture idolizes, as well as a listing of things they disdain, or find “taboo”. I can use the items listed here to illustrate other, non-food related taboos the Western World might have.
Burg, Kenneth. “Whaling Ban Strains U.S.-Japan Relations; Tokyo Seeks to End Moratorium.” The Washington Times [Washington, DC] 26 Apr. 2007: 4. Print. This new’s article describes the gruesome act of whaling, and provides details as to why Americans dislike the practice. I can use this as a reasoning behind why many cultures find whale and dolphin meat taboo.
Dan’s Diet Dilemma
The sad tale about a simple man during lunch break
PG 1. Here, we meet Dan, your average every day office worker. Tired of eating the same fast food each day, he announces a grand plan: to try something new! A coworker reccomends Indian, the hottest diet craze, and Dan sets off to his first destination.
PG 2. Upon arriving at the Indian restaurant, Dan discovers that the food traditionally takes up to 25 minutes to prepare! It seems India holds a taboo against fast food and convenience, and believes all good meals take proper time to bring together. Sadly for Dan, his break is only a half an hour.
PG 3. Moving on, Dan tries out another new diet craze: veganism. The hipster girl at the counter promptly begins rattling off everything the cafe WONT sell, which seems to be… Everything. Dan takes his leave.
PG 4. Dan’s feeling frustrated, so he tries out the good go to: Chinese. However, while there, Dan’s inability to use the traditional Chinese chopstick proves to be a hindrance. You see, in China, food is an offering for spirits, and misplacing your chopsticks or stabbing your food is a grievous offense. This time, Dan decides maybe he’ll try his own, native culture’s food.
PG 5. With his ancestry in Iceland, Dan checks out what his root culture would snack on for lunch, using his smart phone. Little did Dan realize that Iceland’s food includes “Hakarl”, which translates into “Rotten Shark Meat”; this food fit for Vikings is aged in a sand pit for weeks before being eaten.
PG 6. Returning to his office, Dan’s coworker notices he’s brought back yet another bag from the go to fast food restaurant. Defeated, Dan has returned to the familiar.
Dan’s tale shows us that even though we may wish to set out and try new, different foods, from different places and lifestyles, we find our own innate lifestyle may clash. Certain cultures carry with them particular traditions or taboos, that another culture will have a hard time grasping onto. In the end, we all wind up back in our own familiar territory, unwilling to leave, because of food taboos.
Blog Entry 4.5: Understanding Rhetoric
Chosen Text: A Song Of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
Questions Regarding The Text:
1. How does Martin manage to follow a continuous plot when the series features so many different characters?
2. Do all of the character’s have similar motives / goals, or vastly different ones?
3. How will each of the plots finally tie in together?
4. What about this narrative makes it so entertaining and compelling?
Standout Points
A. The cast of characters exceeds 100
B. Point of view changes between a roster of over 30 characters from chapter to chapter
C. Characters range from good, evil, to gray shades of morality.
D. The main plot revolves around the Iron Throne and rulership of the focal Kingdom.
E. Although many characters have never met, they are typically connected by another character.
F. Not every character wants to rule the Kingdom; only four contend for rulership, while a fifth only wants a small portion of the kingdom.
By listing these stand out points, I am able to answer the questions I previously posed. Question 1 is answered by the points of B and D, in that although Martin has a cast of many different characters, the point of view changes between a smaller selection of them, and they all remain tied to the main plot of the Iron Throne. Question 2 is answered by the points of A, C, and F, as the extremely large amount of characters in the cast, coupled with their own alliances, backgrounds, and morality, as well as the fact that they have different desires in regards to the main plot with only a bit of overlapping, proves that the characters all have varying goals and motives. Question 3 is answered by the points of B, D, and E, in that although many of the characters have never met, they are all associated with the main roster of 30+ that narrate the story in some way, and are in some way connected to or knowledgeable of the overall plot. Question 4 is answered by all of the listed points, as the story is driven by one combining plot, though told through the eyes of many vastly different characters, all with their own viewpoints on the current happenings and motivations, causing this story to be a highly character driven one.
Blog Entry 4: Understanding George Takei
Understanding Rhetoric’s prompt #1 asks us to write an analysis of a popular social networking page of someone famous. In regards to this prompt, I felt there was genuinely no better choice than the king of facebook himself, George Takei. Made famous in the 1970’s through his role as Mr. Sulu on the popular sci fi television show Star Trek, Takei has since found a reemergence in fame through his use of the social networking site Facebook, where over 4 million facebook users subscribe to his day to day posts. The idea of a once obscure celebrity reaching such popularity is unheard of, though once one delves into Takei’s facebook page itself, it’s not hard to see why the colorful and vibrant Takei attracts so many fans, with even I myself having been subscribed to him from some time now.
Takei appeals to our pathos, first and foremost. He offers several images per day that generally hold an amusing connotation. The images frequently make use of pop culture references, with George himself seeming to have a preference for mind puzzles and puns. Interestingly, George does not create these images himself, and instead encourages his fans to send in their own creations, which he picks and chooses from on what he would like to share with his fanbase (applying due credit as well). Through this method, George encourages an interaction with his fans that is absent from most facebooks of celebrities, most likely why he has become such an internet success. Takei may also link in the odd story from across the net that could have a heartwarming or tragic emotion attached to it, sharing his feelings on the matter with his fans. Takei also plays upon our pathos with his trademark catchphrase, encouraging his fans to be themselves no matter whom they are, “It’s okay to be Takei”.
While Takei certainly specializes in playing into our ethos, plenty of logos can be found amongst his page, in the form of links to relevant news stories and topics, complete with Takei’s own views on the matters. A figurehead in the Lesbian & Gay Rights groups, Takei closely follows legislation regarding any topics related to the homosexual community, even providing hour by hour updates when the Senate discussed and voted on banning gay marriage altogether. At one memorable point, Takei posted an interview, where he discussed his time in a Japanese internment camp following World War II, offering great insight to that way of life and his thoughts regarding the treatment now. Takei also frequently starts discussions upon his page, asking people for their opinions regarding current social issues.
For ethos, many would contend that Takei is not a credible source due to his status as a one shot actor, though many credentials follow the elderly man. Aside from being a prominent figurehead and well informed expert in the Lesbian & Gay Rights Movement, Takei is also a Japanese American who saw first hand the tragedies of World War II and the segregation that came with them. Takei is also frequently involved in many pop culture events, recently grand marashalling the chicken dance at Cincinnati’s Oktoberfest, and appearing at various award shows. Perhaps the most notable characteristic in Takei’s ethos is his lack of hatred, which is certainly a rarity in the unhindered world of the internet. Takei rarely slanderizes others, even those that disagree with his views, and openly encourages people of all types to be who they are. While slightly coy, Takei is never openly dirty, and maintains a pg status.
With all of these things in mind, simply subscribing to George Takei’s feed will easily inform you of why this obscure actor has become such a sensation. Each day I awaken with a little excerpt from Takei that makes me feel accomplished, and generally positive towards the world. This media monarch has certainly introduced to us a new world that is both easily accessible and enjoyable, showing us that, it truly is, “okay to be Takei”.
The Life Buffet
I used Calvin & Hobbes as the characters are recognizable, targeting the reader’s desire to relate. The comic displays that while America as a society has access to every type of food from across the globe, we hold a prejudice against it due to our own cultural stigmas and tastes. Enjoy!
Blog Entry 3: Descriptive Food
Of all foods, I have to say my favorite has to be ice cream. The soft, sweet treat has long been one of my favorites. I adore each flavor, whether it be the classic and simple vanilla, or the more quirky mint chocolate chip. It’s texture is soft and creamy, with the cold temperature perfectly suited for cooling you off during a warm day. It is by far the best dessert around!
Tonight for dinner, my boyfriend and I prepared barbecue chicken, steamed broccoli, and macaroni and cheese. The broccoli was a deliciously crisp, refreshing portion of the meal, steamed perfectly to only a slightly soft texture. The macaroni was buttery and chewy, with a delicious, creamy cheese sauce covering it’s crescent shaped pasta base. The chicken, however, was easily the best portion of the meal. The meat was tender, and came apart easily, with a deliciously zesty, yet sweet barbecue glaze. A perfectly prepared meal.
Kirstie's English Blog 