Are we done yet?

In the closing lines of the last chapter, Postman writes, "For in the end, he was trying to tell us that what afflicted the people in Brave New World was not that they were laughing instead of thinking, but that they did not know what they were laughing about and why they had stopped thinking." Postman makes this distinction to show how people have become accustomed to just laughing when a show has been deemed funny. They don't really know what is going on and are dumbfounded. Nowadays, it seems as if people are just doing whatever they want without even thinking, not just laughing.

Friday Experience

Not being able to talk on Friday was a great way to see how much talking is involved with our lives. Only using dry-erase boards and charades was very difficult especially when trying to ask simple questions like "may I use the bathroom?" My troublesome experience with this was when everybody was asking why I was not talking. It was very difficult to show what it was for without writing any letters on the board. Then if they figured it out, they would try to make me talk, which was quite a pain. I thought that this related to Postman's quote, "the concept of truth is intimately linked to the biases of forms of expression" which suggests that the truth is different to all people. One person's truth may be another person's lie.

Amusing Ourselves to Death...with Niel Postman info!

Neil Postman suggests that society is going from the age of typography to the age of television. The concept of cloning humans was mentioned in his lecture. As he was discussing this topic he stressed the fact that itmade people believe that it was going to be a big deal. The cloning started with animals such as frogs and sheep. This let to the idea of human reproduction and that clones would be useful for extra body parts so that in case of emergency, a man will be able to improve his body. A prevailing view will be that clones will be considered subhuman. So the idea goes beyond the tool. Also in chapter one, Postman mentions a new tool containing a new idea that goes beyond the tool itself, which is the clock.  Back in the day, time was measured by the sun and seasons. Now, time is measured by a machine using minutes and seconds. This changed the metaphor for time changed how we view time itself. These scientific developments will changed how we view one another just as clock as changed how we view time. Both of these advancements have meddled with nature and can only result in humans grading what has value and worth. 

The second example of Postman's parallels is that people have become adapted to talking to machines more then people. He says that we will talk to machines more and even may prefer it in the future. This is closely related to what Postman says in his book when we have succumbed to the philosophy of time. We are so reliant on our watches and clocks that we base most of our decisions and plans on the time. This is similar because we are so dependent on the clock and other technology that we focus on it more then the people. We have created a new way of life with technology but it seems as if the technology controls us instead of us controlling it. This idea is very similar to the idea of Postman and how we talk to machines more then humans.

Metaphors, Civility and Language Debate

1.) The intent of the first six words of her column is to say that using polite terms while communicating with others is important, especially with others of a different race. Chavez stresses the importance the meaning of civility.A person's word choice can be interpreted in many ways unless it has background information to guide the reader in the right direction.

2.) Chavez used the term bellicose to describe how political terms have been used over the years. For instance, when we say a candidate "took his best shot," we don't mean he aimed a gun at his opponent, either does "firing a shot across the bow" mean anything more than issuing a strong warning. These terms and phrases help enrich the context of the political debates and elections.

3.) Chavez is attempting to make the reader believe that the use of words is not the problem, but it's what the context and tone used to say the word. If we discriminate on those with others who aren't equal -- by race, ethnicity, sex, religion, sexual orientation or political party -- even normal words can take a hurtful meaning. I think that her best example is when the Los Angeles Times did a style manual that restricted  the use of some words: "Indian," "Hispanic," "ghetto," even "inner-city." This example shows that people are trying to get rid of words that take offense to others. Another would be the Huck Finn and how the switching of the words negro and slave change the meaning and do not allow the reader to fully understand the author's intent. I would have to agree with Chavez because she makes a valid point about how words are not offense, but it is the person that says and uses the words that creates the offensive nature of the word. Prejudice and discrimination still live on today because of the use of many words that have been claimed to be offensive to many.

Conserve, Reuse, Recycle!

1. The sentence that best shows Semrau's point is, "Of the three, I prefer to focus on reuse."

2. I believe that the intent of the article is to show how Semrau "goes green" with his own body. Waldemar does not want to retire after supposedly retiring after his General Motors and from Dow Chemical Company. Semrau wants to continue to reuse his body and work forever. He goes on to discuss about how the chairman of Cascade Engineering told him about the three stages of one's professional life. Semrau, who is now 75, has surpassed all three of these stages and now is not sure what to do. This shows that Waldemar wants to figure a way to reuse himself for the sake of the community. Semrau "reuses" his self by fulfilling a childhood dream of going to medical school at Harvard Medical School and becoming a surgeon. He believes that he will be accepted regardless of his age. Semrau believes in a fortune cookie that said, "you will be involved in many humanitarian projects."

Saviors of the Nation, Come

The hymn, Saviors of the Nation, Come, mainly talks about Christ being born into our world and his rule over all the nations. Luther's use of diction allows for a better understanding of the theme which is that Christ is Lord and he is to be praised. Luther uses words in each stanza that leads to this theme. For example, in the first stanza, he uses "marvel" to describe how miraculous his birth is. In the second stanza. he says "not by human flesh and blood" which describes how Christ was born holy. The third stanza, "undefiled" and "enthroned" show that he was perfect at birth and was born a king. The fifth stanza uses "boundless" and the whole last line "When shall we its glories see?" shows that his kingdom is forever and not held to just one place and then the last line shows that it is full of 'glories". Following that stanza, Luther uses the word "devine", showing that Christ is devine at all times. In the final stanza, he uses "eternally", showing that Chirst will be here forever, until his second coming. The entire last stanza says that we should praise him eternally.

Rev. Borghardt Sermon vs Edwards' Sermon

1.) 23 times: makes holy, smiling, slain(3), is, took, died(3), makes, was slain, lives(2), reigns, rose, put


2.) The themes of Edwards' sermon and Rev. Borghardt's sermon are very different. Edwards' sermon speaks of our condemnation. He says how we deserve to die and go to hell. The sermon mostly talks about how we are all sinners because he tries to convert them using fear, but points out a few times that Christ will save us. Borghardt's sermon on the other hand is the complete opposite. He talks about Christ doing good to save us. He used positive ideas to convert people to the faith. Also, he speaks about Christ's second coming. It is very positive, unlike Edwards'.