Tennis L<3VER

I am a tennis fanatic. I LOVE tennis and everything it has brought to my life. I can not begin to explain the phenomenon of how a simple sport like tennis ever evolved into a heart felt passion but it most certainly has become a part of who I am. I have devoted myself to the sport and it has been the best decision I ever made.

I love the competitiveness of tennis. It combines the elements of precision, excitement, and power to create a very competitive sport where on any given day the best can be beaten. What the average spectator doesn’t realize is that tennis is more than a game of perfect strokes but also a battle of mental strategy. I like to think of tennis as mental warfare. I approach every match I play with the same mind frame, which is that I have the ability win, no matter my opponent’s skill level, by simply monopolizing on my opponent’s weaknesses and seizing every opportunity in the match.

Tennis provides an atmosphere for conversation which can be found enjoyable for everyone. Tennis can be played on the weekends, recreationally, or on the club level. I love the tennis community and I have met a lot of friends through playing. My older brother and I have become great friends through the many hours we have spent together practicing the sport. Tennis is a life sport that you can play for your entire life. I plan on joining the club tennis team in college and as I get older I want to join a women’s league or at least force my husband to play with me.

Tennis is also a pretty inexpensive sport to play because all you need is a racquet, a comfortable pair of shoes, and a can of balls to have fun! I feel confident that the first time you play you will be hooked.

To persuade or not to persuade?

I think the main difference in an essay and a blog is the way people approach each of them. When I know I have an essay to write, I absolutely dread every minute up until I turn it in. I like what Lauren Slater had to say about essays – she said, “They occupy a quirky place in the general genre of nonfiction, a place many people seem not to understand.” This applies to me, because I am never quite sure how to set up my essays, or who I should be writing it to, etc. But, with a blog, I don’t really care who reads it! It seems to me that blogs are much more laidback pieces of writing then essays. Most of the time, people write blogs because they want to, as opposed to a student being forced to write an essay. Also, I believe that people often begin writing essays and feel that they need to adhere to the “norm” of what they are taught an essay should look like. They feel that it should be set in the standard five paragraph paper and convince the reader to believe what their thesis statement reads. Again, I agree with Lauren Slater when she said, “Essay writing is about transcribing the often convoluted process of thought, leaving your own brand of breadcrumbs in the forest so that those who want to can find their way to your door.” People who write essays are out to prove something to somebody, through their writings. Essays are usually about one topic, but blogs can be about anything and everything – within the same page! I know that I like writing blogs much more than essays, because of that laidback feeling of not having to worry about a grade, or if anybody is trying to learn from what I write. People who write blogs most likely don’t mind if their babbling changes anybody’s mind or not, and that’s what sets blogs apart from essays.

The Magic Of Ys

Joanna Newsom has created a masterpiece with her new album Ys. It is a five song, fifty five minute epic full of magic and wonder.

Joanna Newsom plays a Lyon & Healy style 11 pedal harp. She has almost an obsession with melody and the harmonies in her songs. This may be due in part to the fact that she originally wanted to be a composer, and went to college to study to become a composer. All these components come together in her music to create music that is greatly unlike most music listened to by the general public. I mean, who plays a harp?

Her song narratives have a classical aesthetic full of antique speech. She has a very distinctive voice in which she sings. This may turn off the casual listener, but to a listener who is drawn in by her voice, her storytelling, and her music; it makes for an enjoyable and unique experience.

A major difference in Ys and Newsom’s previous album The Milk-Eyed Mender is the fact that she recruited Van Dyke Parks, a famous composer, to help with orchestral arrangements on the album. The orchestral arrangements accompany her harp playing on this album to create this wonderful album.

If you are interested in listening to something different than your average music, give Joanna Newsom a try. Her voice and narrative will wrap you up and take you into the world in which she is describing. The accompanying music will aid in the taking over of your surroundings in reality.

The harp is a really nice instrument to listen to, and Joanna Newsom’s melodies are astounding. She can really play that harp. Just let yourself be wrapped up in her voice and just listen to the music and just flow, and you can have an experience that is not often had with an album.

Differences between a Blog and Essay

What are the differences in a blog and an essay? Well I don’t believe there are many differences between a blog and an essay. In “Essays are Not Scientific Documents,” it is said that essays aren’t necessarily all based on fact, and that they can even be “tongue-and-cheek, satire or testimony.” So this to me means that just because you are writing it down in what is considered the “essay form” it does not have to be based on a fact or just used for classroom and presentation purposes. The essay gives you information but just because it comes to you in the form of an essay doesn’t mean that it is factual and that you have to believe what it is telling you, even though they can be trying persuading you to lean towards the direction they are going with the topic at hand. Now in “What is a blog?” it also states that blogs are completely personal and are more like personal diaries. Even though I perceive an essay to have more structure and form than a blog would they really don’t have very different content. The essay can tell you about what is going on around them or what is happening but may not be presented in the personal way that a blog may be. Blogs do keep going though, essays have more closure at the end as appose to a blog where it can keep going as long as someone still has something to say about it or the blog has been posted somewhere for others to read and keep talking about . Okay so maybe the two of the have more differences than I originally thought but I still think that they are basically the same thing, just usually presented and interpreted in different ways but mostly containing similar information.

Dream Slightly Revised

Growing up I always believed what everyone said pertaining my future, “Katie, you can be anything you want to be when you grow-up!” Well now at 18 and trying to figure out what it is that I want to do with the rest of my life, the rude reality has hit and I can’t be whatever I want to be just because I want to. From the age of about five I always wanted to be a surgeon. My mother use to get so mad at me for stealing her stethoscope and her scrubs and running around the house touching everything I thought might have a heartbeat, whether it did or not who’s to say, and I would get so excited when I actually heard something. Growing up I was always one of those weird kids who when someone got hurt on the playground or out back behind my house I would try to fix them in any way I knew how, even if it was just sticking band-aids all over them. I started getting into the discovery health shows about surgeries around the 3rd grade and it still kills my parents when they walk into the room and there are people’s insides and a lot of blood all over the television but I am completely fascinated by the whole process. I love everything in health care, all the way from the diagnosis to recovery. Now that I have grown up I realize that not just anyone can be a surgeon I have had to change my direction a little bit. It takes years of school and being very intelligent to become a surgeon and I have realized that I don’t think I would be able to handle all the responsibility that comes along with the job. I have realized that I would still like to pursue nursing though, and even specialize in surgery. Even though I know I’m not going to be able to obtain my childhood dream of being a surgeon I am getting very excited about starting the process to achieve my slightly revised dream.

It's just a jump to the left...

Rocky Horror- I don't know if it was the atmosphere when I first saw this masterpiece, or the overly dramatic comedy, and catchy tunes that made me fall in love.

It was on new years night/morning, I was with my boss, his room mate, and her boy friend. I had never seen the movie, however, I always noticed it was referenced at random times in other forms of media. When my boss' room mate emerged with the DVD in her hand, it occurred to me- I've yet to be culturally educated by this specific work. When she put it in, I wondered what this adventure into the unknown held for me. Never actually reading a synopsis on the movie, I only went into this experience with the knowledge of "hey... this movie is referenced all the time!" The only other franchise that comes to mind that could hold a candle to Rocky Horror's fame in references would have to be Star Wars.

The movie started, and as it went along I discovered other interesting connections to this movie made in pop culture. Things like some of Manson's outfits he wore on tour, or Jimmy Urine's bisexual antics. The classic tunes took no time to introduce themselves. Who doesn't know the time warp? I was observing an epic tale of a couple, Brad and Janet, that ran into the wall of the unpredictable. When they are stranded In the middle of nowhere with only one place around for miles and miles. This place is none other than the house of Doctor Frank N. Furter (yes, he's the satirist's answer to Doctor Frankenstein). Frank N. Furter is a sweet transvestite that wants to create the perfect man. As the night goes on they are faced with "coming of age" problems, and are truly tested with moral dilemmas. If there is a correct time for anyone to watch Rocky Horror, it's when you're an older teenager. I know this movie is something i will probably take with me through the ages.

Jon for Every Season

Previewing clips of unreleased music on the internet, reading reviews, and rushing to the store to buy an EP? Why would anyone go through that much trouble for only a few songs? The answer: Jon Foreman has not only reinvented the EP but also released genius music. Foreman has cleverly composed a series of four EPs that showcase his personal songwriting and musical talent leaving his audience craving for more. After hearing the digital release of “Fall,” I bought the hard copy of “Fall, Winter” the week it came out in stores. And now that I have overplayed both EPs I am in great anticipation for the third EP, “Spring.”
There is a great difference between Foreman’s musical style in his internationally-renown band, Switchfoot, and his personal EP series. Instead of an energetic rock band, Jon reforms to his acoustic guitar and harmonica to produce some of the best folk music that I have heard in a while. In his personal releases Foreman also plays some solo piano pieces that convey the same peaceful mood of his EPs.
Although his music altered, Foreman continues to write good, honest lyrics. He craftily mixes a basic topic and personal experiences and creates a song. For example, in “Somebody’s Baby” Foreman depicts a homeless woman he saw brushing her teeth and the opposition she faces from society. The homeless woman is displayed as “somebody’s baby girl” who is not cared for because “when the people don’t want you, they just throw you money for beer.” Jon realistically ends the song with her “birth and the death were both over with no one to grieve.” However, Jon is not limited to concrete themes, but also writes in metaphors. His song, “My Love Goes Free,” is based on a caged bird that has a special song to sing to the world. The song was featured in the movie “Bella” and is a metaphor relating to the issues of abortion. Both “Somebody’s Baby” and “My Love Goes Free” are evidence of Jon Foreman’s skilled writing.
Thankfully the sequel, “Spring, Summer,” will be released this upcoming year along with four other albums. Jon Foreman is involved with several different musical projects and has a unique sound for each. Switchfoot will be releasing a full-length rock album while The Real Sean Jon will release pieces from Foreman’s acoustic project with Sean Watkins. With three different projects, Jon shows his ability to capture various audiences. I was originally drawn into Foreman’s music in middle school with their radio debut on my favorite rock station. I instantly became a fan of Switchfoot but looking back on the over-popular song that first caught my attention, I realize that I have grown in my music taste. Fortunately Jon’s music has matured as well. He not only appeals to various audiences but grows with them too; true talent! The fact that Foreman has a ten-year reputation for releasing quality music makes me anticipate 2008.

Blog on Blog...

I always pictured a blog as a sort of diary, just instead of writing it in a notebook with a lock on the outside. A blog is actually very public. It is like giving the whole world the key to your diary. A blog to me simply expresses your feelings and states your opinions. People all over the world write blogs. They write about how their day is, their political ideals, and some write about other useless crap, like Britney Spears, that nobody cares about. How is that any different from an essay? Cynthia Ozick even stated “A genuine essay has no educational, polemical, or sociopolitical use; it is the movement of the free mind at play.” I like the way Ozick put this because teachers make me feel like I have to learn something and instead of writing an essay about my opinion on the subject matter, I have to let my opinions go in one ear and out the other, regurgitating the information they gave me on a piece of paper. I would definitely say the two are pretty much the same thing. I would also say that an essay goes more in depth. I say that an essay goes more into detail and develops a true structure with a beginning, middle, and end. A blog can be random and all over the place. A blog is basically a summary and a blogger doesn’t necessarily have to elaborate on their opinions or prove them to their audience. A blogger can simply state “I hate cheeseburgers, deal,” and they do not have to explain themselves at all. The viewer may want to know “Why do you hate them? Are you a vegetarian?” When writing an essay I believe it is imperative to be thorough when explaining the writer wouldn’t want to leave their audience hanging. Right?

Getting Into a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Star Wars has been a favorite of the public since its inception over thirty years ago. I have loved Star Wars since I was a child. It brings people together, providing them with escape from their worlds and into the large variety of media spin-offs.
People choose to celebrate their love of Star Wars in several different ways. Many go to conventions dressed up as their favorite characters such as Princess Leia or Darth Vader. I have never been to a convention before. Although, I did have to dress up as Princess Leia for a dance recital! I would absolutely love to go to one of the conventions, dressed up or not. A friend of mine and her boyfriend has a mutual love of Star Wars. They plan to get married in a Star Wars themed wedding. He wants to dress as a Jedi and have a man dressed as Yoda marry them. I have visited some of the best Star Wars fansites out of the millions that are on the Internet. My favorites are TheForce.Net, Wookieepedia, Viridity and The Other Side of the Sky. The latter two are dedicated to Jacen and Jaina Solo, respectively.
Everyone has a time where they would like to break away from reality. I choose to escape through reading a good book or by watching something on TV. I am able to do this with Star Wars. My favorites of the films are Revenge of the Sith and Return of the Jedi. About 99% of the books I read are Star Wars books. I find the mixture of science fiction, action/adventure, romance and mythology refreshing. I can relate to most of the characters. Some of the best characters are the ones who make morally ambiguous decisions.
The saga of Star Wars is not told only in the famous film series. The stories are continued and built upon in the Expanded Universe. The Expanded Universe incorporates the officially licensed books, comics, video games, etc. I own over seventy books and have read the majority of them. My favorite is The Last Command, in which Han and Leia have their twins. I have a few comics. I am currently following the story of Luke’s descendant Cade Skywalker in the Star Wars: Legacy comics. I eagerly await the new Clone Wars TV series coming in the fall and the live action series next year.
I encourage those of you who are reading this to give Star Wars a try, if you haven’t already. Watch one of the movies. Read a book or comic. If you find that you don’t like Star Wars, that is fine. If you find that you do, great! But just give it a chance. May the Force be with you!

My Unchanging Fascination with Narnia

C.S. Lewis, author and respected theologian, simply writes about what he loves in his book series, The Chronicles of Narnia. The series is full of fantasy, adventure, and spiritual truths that are a picture of C.S. Lewis’s faith. One of my favorite aspects of the Chronicles is the fact that their writer has to be one of the deepest spiritual minds in history, yet he values the simple childlike faith of the children in his books. Even though Lewis infused his faith into these books, the series has been my favorite ever since I can remember. My fascination with them as a fourth grader has not changed, even when my perception of the books has. The Chronicles of Narnia remains my favorite book series because the stories themselves are beautiful and exciting and because I can be encouraged by C.S. Lewis’s incredible faith while reading them.
My favorite books are those that provide escape into a very different world, especially into a world so beautifully different like Narnia. From the account of Narnia’s beginning in The Magician’s Nephew to the battle scenes in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the books keep me consistently captivated.
Ironically, while I love the fantasy and incredulity of the stories, The Chronicles of Narnia also encourages me because of the truths that are throughout the series. C.S. Lewis said that no novel is good unless it can be appreciated both as a child and as an adult, and I have come to agree with him. Even now, as a senior in high school, I still love to follow Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy through their adventures. Yet now, I can see a deeper level to the stories that I could not see when I was younger.
I love to read C.S. Lewis’s beautiful interpretation of the Creation story of Genesis in The Magician’s Nephew, when he accounts for the creation of Narnia. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Aslan, a picture of Jesus Christ, takes on the sin and punishment of Edmund and is brutally killed by the White Witch. This part of the story reminds me of the need I have for that kind of grace and of how thankful I should be that Jesus made that kind of sacrifice. Later, Susan and Lucy watch as Aslan is raised to life again, just as Jesus was made alive. I love to read these books, simply because I can find incredible reminders of what God has done.

Essays vs. Blogs

When I think of writing, my stomach instinctively tightens. A normal writing experience for me always includes a long night spent stressing out over a five page essay that is due the next morning. I have never done well with the constraints that are included with essay writing. I am much more relaxed when I finally have the chance to write with a little creativity. I think the amount of creativity is the biggest difference between essays and more informal writing, such as blogs. According to Joseph Epstein, “the essayist never comes out to tell you his view of the matter being discussed, never attempts directly to assert his personality, and never even slips into the first- person singular.” When writing a blog, the writer has so much more freedom to express their individuality without necessarily worrying about being criticized. No person ever writes an essay unless their English teacher has assigned it or unless they want to express more serious ideas on a more educational topic. For example, a scientist writing a lab report is required to follow certain guidelines in order to cover the details and technicalities that must be included. Basically, essays are just pretty serious stuff. I think a blog can best be compared to a person being interviewed. I agree with Edward Hoagland’s opinion that during an interview, “you are not interested in the exact words that come out of the people’s mouths but in the essence of their meaning.” A long winded conversation is not what anyone wants to hear and so in contrast, blogs allow for the writer to get straight to the point. Blogs can be developed in a few short sentences. However, an essay requires five or more paragraphs before the topic have been fully discussed and usually by that your reader has become bored with your writing. I would definitely chose blogging over an essay any day!

Strive for Sophistication

Writing for college requires depth and critical thinking. When you write an essay, a research paper, a lab report, an analysis, a piece of creative fiction . . . or in this case, a blog . . . you are being asked to cogently string together pieces of your intellect, your ability to think critically about complex information, and your ability to phrase your knowledge in such a way that your reader (someone other than yourself) can understand.

There are baseline requirements for college writing: you must yield to accepted spelling, punctuation, grammar, syntax and form rules. There are sentence and paragraph level expectations: that you can use a variety of sentence patterns - simple, compound, complex, compound-complex, that you can transition from one written thought to another in a logical manner, and that you can embrace a college level vocabulary with finesse and proficiency. There are accepted patterns for writing college papers based on the traditional five paragraph model. There are expected protocols for eliminating tangential thinking on paper and keeping a thesis in focus throughout.

But when all is said and done, your grader (generally your instructor) does not want to be bored by your writing. To cinch an "A" for a college level paper, go the extra mile and strive to inspire, entertain, or at the very least, provoke.

You really have no idea how many papers professors read every single day; don't let yours be flat, stagnant, and simplistic. Let yours be sophisticated.

Importance of the Past

Great moments are achieved through great opportunity. From those opportunites that have been exploited, we have made goals in life's roadway acheivable. History is not just a torture chamber of dates and names that we lived through school with. It is a rule book of past lessons learned in defeats and in victories. A lot of our life questions are about things that have already been practiced by our ancestors. Yet we find constant turmoil in the fact that we cannot seem to find the answer to life's questions when we do know that we are not the first ones to experience these questions. My point really is to drive home the part history plays in our everyday lives today. In 1914 a certain group of leaders from several Europeon countries met to discuss social and political issues. There were representaives from Germany, Italy, France, England, and a delegation from the Austrian Hungarian Empire as well. They all sat down to discuss and converse, to the betterment of the Europeon nations. One thing they could not agree on was seeing the matter from the others point of view, resulting in prideful greed. The result of this conference was not a happy one, these leaders ended up facing each other on two other occasions. The first being a meeting on several diffrent battle fields in France, and the other being in the surrender of Germany and the Austiran Hungarian Empire. This conference is laid out in a wildly acclaimed book entitled "The Guns of August". WWI was kindled by this conference of confusion and distrust that was seen across the desks of these noblemen. From this we see that confusion in our world today can be taken to such extremes that a world war can be the culmination of it. A study of our past can bring about certain advantages in our day and time. Do we still negotiate with the point of a gun? Well that's hard to answer, at times. We, the United States, do not point our gun at England and use them like a puppet, as some say we do. We have learned through history that it is more sufficient to talk things out instead of assuming and firing. This may seem hardly like an in depth look at why history is important; yet I think that history has taught me to teach things on a basic level and build the students thoughts on your subject before throwing them into something that would be way over there heads. You may think that the world is a mess, and going down and never rising again. As that may be the case, I'm just glad that we do not have the mindset of the 16th century and be in possesion of nuclear war heads. Yes! Several lessons, but all I need is one small one to make a point.

Blogssay?

The general idea of both an essay and a blog is to deliver a message to another reader. Alan Lightman believes that the ideal essay “communes with a real person.” While I feel that this is true, I think that the message communed is more quantitative with an essay. With a blog, the message is more qualitative. I feel the differences in a painted portrait and a well tagged wall is much similar. One is a fine work of art that has one specific purpose; the other is a fine work of art that can be viewed from many perspectives. I hate how disconnected essays can feel. Blogs feel like they’re actually something a person wanted to right. Lightman feels that the essay “is not an assignment,” I feel he is got the concept of the essay and blog mixed up. I have never written an essay for fun. However, if I thought people valued my ideas enough, I would write blogs all the time. I find that when essays are written, they are told by some other person “write an essay about this subject.” Lightman describes how he’s “going on a journey” when he reads an essay. How can you go on a journey into the unknown when you are reading an essay that was assigned? Maybe I could agree with Lightman if he reads random essays, but who does that? Show me someone that likes to read essays for fun, and I’ll show you a liar. I can understand reading a blog (someone’s collection of ideas) for fun. However, I cannot read something someone has simply vomited on paper because some person told them to. There’s too much polish and criticism on the line with an essay. There’s no soul to it, only a shell. Shells can be pretty, but they hold no life, like essays. Blogs are like hermit crabs-moderately pretty shell, but there’s life with it. Life is much more beautiful than a pretty shell.

Regarding the essay and the blog.

Essays are indeed different than blogs. The both express They are different because blogs are used to quickly and efficiently get one's thoughts out of one's head in a form that can be easily communicated to others, while an essay is a slow, arduous process of having an idea or thought and trying to communicate it to others in a more structured manner. Essays are more concerned with proper sentence stucture as well as all of those concepts of an essay.

Blogs are something that someone can just sit down out and spill their thoughts, with some leaniency on proper sentence structure and the correctness of the grammer in favor of the writing being able to be more stream of consciousness. This format has quite an appeal for those who want an outlet to easily write out their ideas.

An essay, on the other hand, has more power than a blog. The appearance of an essay itself exudes a well organized thought process, what with the paragraph structure on the page and what not. The essay is a respectable outlet to impart an idea or knowledge with your own personal flair thrown in the mix. I must agree with Joyce Carol Oates' statement that, "The essays transcend their data, or transmute it into personal meaning." When someone reads an essay it tends to have a much stronger impact because of its well thought out communication and organized structure.

In my opinion, blogs seem to say, "Here's what I think", while the essay presents thoughts along with supporting ideas; not merely a blunt statement. I believe an essay is a better format to communicate thoughts because essays are just taken more seriously, and rightly so. I like how Joyce Carol Oates states that, "Indeed, in the most brilliant essays, language is not merely the medium of communication; it is communication."

The essay defines ones self, is backed up by educated opinions and is polished to
perfection. The blog, however, is the casual essay. Blogs allow for a few grammar
mistakes; they may even contain “racier” material. I value essays more than blogs,
not simply because they may have less grammatical errors but the opinion in most
essays is strong. The opinion is researched and thought over by the author many
times. Don’t get me wrong blog opinions are also researched and thought over but
honestly if one publishes a blog everyday- the opinion of the author has the tendency
to change more often than that of an essay that has been edited and edited for six
months. Blogs are casual displays of things. I love blogs, infact, I prefer reading
blogs more because I am more likely to read the real thoughts of the author before
they are thought over for months. Essays are to autobiographies as blogs are to
reality TV. Both are real however the autobiography has time to “ferment” and take
on the perfect bias of the person it is highlighting. Blogs are real they depict
the authors opinion on that day at that time there is no swaying- no editing- they
are the personal preference of the author here and now. Until the public is educated
fully on blogs and essays- the blog is always going to have “leeway” on content.
People expect essays to be professional. Take Thomas Paine’s essay Common Sense.
If Paine used incorrect grammar and forgot to site his sources the world would not
take him serious. Instead he wrote in essay form, in turn allowing political decisions
to be based upon his essay. What matters most about both essays and blogs, Susan Orlean says best, “…they convey the writer’s journey, and [do] it intelligently, gracefully, honestly, and with whatever voice or shape fit best."