Let's Talk Sports

Okay so in this post I am just going to talk about a bunch of different things corresponding to a bunch of different sports, because I love sports. If you don't, then you should reconsider because there are countless sports and they are fun to play and fun to watch. You can start with sportscenter. On ESPN, channel 25 on comcast and channel 206 on direcTV, sportscenter is on every morning and I watch it every week day while I am eating breakfast before I go to school. It if a basic recap of the sporting events of the prior day and it only includes the most exciting, important, or entertaining parts so it is perfect for someone who isn't super into sports.

Football is an awesome sport. It is one of the few times that you can run around like a madman and hit someone else as hard as possible and have people cheer about it. This weekend everyone's favorite team, the Minnesota Vikings, achieved a nice victory over the St. Louis Rams 36-22. Adrian Peterson rushed for over 200 yards, including an 82 yard touchdown run. That brings his season total within 300 yards of the all time single season rushing record. Peterson now has two weeks to rush for 300 yards and he can break the record. Fingers crossed.

Now baseball. The biggest news in baseball recently has had to do with the Los Angeles Angels. They recently picked up Josh Hamilton to add to their already killer lineup. Their lineup is stacked with sluggers Josh Hamilton, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Trumbo, Morales, and Kendrick to name a few. The Minnesota Twins have also made some questionable moves recently, getting rid of both of their center fielders, Denard Span and Ben Revere, so they now have a pretty big hole to fill.

In recent basketball news around Minnesota, the Timberwolves are having a good start to their season at 12 wins and 9 losses. Their starting point guard Ricky Rubio has also just returned from a torn ACl suffered last season. He had a great first game back last night as the T-wolves beat the Dallas Mavericks and Rubio had a top ten play on sportscenter today.

That's a good amount for today, maybe in a few weeks I will have another post about sports, and next time we will add in some stuff about hockey if the NHL decides to make up and end the lockout.

What is Forgiveness?

Definition:

Forgiveness is not something that only finds its way into those of us with the best of hearts. It isn’t something that comes easily. Forgiveness is the way that you can put yourself in someone else’s shoes and take yourself completely out of your own in order to understand what the other person was thinking and what you would want if you were in their shoes. It is believing in the goodness of mankind even when every bone in your body is screaming at you to rip the head off of the person across from you. You understand the bigger picture.

Narration:

Forgiveness is not easy by any means. It is going against your first instincts and looking further. When my brother took my gameboy advance to a friend’s house and lost it, you can bet I was in no mood to give him a hug and go watch a movie. I was pissed. That gameboy was my go-to for any car ride and now what would I do. Just wait and think about the game that I could be beating but now couldn’t. I was mad but the more I thought about it I realized there was no way that he tried to lose it because I could tell in his voice that he knew he messed up. Even though I would have to save up my money to buy another one I forgave him because I knew he didn’t do it on purpose and he knew he was in the wrong.

Description:

A woman lays dead on the ground in a pool of her own blood, her life stolen from her by a man who would do anything for a few bucks to buy even one meal for his family of five. Her husband stands over the killer with a menacing look in his eyes, there is no reason in the world why he shouldn’t even the score, why this man didn’t deserve the same fate as his wife. He killed her, but did he mean to? Why did he need the money? Could those tears really come from a cold blooded killer. As the husband uncocks the gun and reaches out his hand, he knows that the pain will be great, but his nightmares will be shrouded with one less crime.

Example:

My grandma has never even touched a grudge in her life let alone hold one. Everything that happens to her, good or bad, happens for a reason and even if someone hurts her, it must have been for a reason larger than her understanding. She believes that everyone is good on the inside, that even the worst of people could be turned around. We just need to give them a chance she says.

Comparison/Contrast:

Forgiveness and trust are not as different as they may seem. Many people associate trust with being able to count on someone no matter what, and forgiveness is not staying mad at people who wrong you. Forgiveness could also be counting on someone to not wrong you again. It can be trusting someone to understand their mistake and learn from it. Trust can be overlooking some actions of those you care about because you believe that they are being done for a good reason because you give them the benefit of the doubt. To forgive someone you have to trust at least part of them, and to trust someone you will be willing to forgive them if they make a mistake.

Process analysis:

The process for forgiveness isn’t all that complicated. First you have to expect something from someone, expect someone to do something or for them to not do something. Then they have to fail you. They have to disappoint you, cross you, or just plain hurt you. When your anger builds up inside of you until you can’t hold it any longer, forgiveness is when you filter the pain out of your body rather than release it on the person. You find a way to understand their actions or overlook them because you know that or you hope that they won’t do it again.

Division of Analysis:

Forgiveness involves the conflict of many different emotions. It is the point when love, hate, fear, happiness, anger, disgust, confidence, and a combination of others. The only difference between revenge and forgiveness is which emotions win out. It is when your love and confidence for the other person or humankind in general topples your hate and anger, and allows you to see past the obvious and look at things from every point of view. It is a constant battle, but forgiveness depends on who wins out.

Classification:

When you think of forgiveness you think of many different things. Many people think of religion and the forgiveness of God and Jesus and how Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins. Many people think of repenting criminals who are forgiven by the people who they have wronged. You could think of the wife who forgives her husband for cheating, or for the father who forgives his son for crashing his car. Forgiveness comes in all shapes and sizes and can be found in our daily lives as well as our large events. It is a choice that we make, whether to forgive someone or not, depending on who the person is, what the crime is, but most of all what kind of person you are.

Cause and Effect:

Forgiveness is the renunciation of resentment or anger instead of demanding punishment or restitution. All humans are born compassionate. Forgiveness occurs after you are wronged, after someone does something that makes you angry, hurt, or disappointed. When your compassion bubbles up from deep within and overcomes the anger that has been thrust upon you, that is when you have forgiveness.

Argumentative/Persuasive:

Forgiveness is not easy by any means. It is hard. Even so, most people have an equal number of situations in which they will be the forgiver or in which they will be the forgiven. That is why forgiveness is so necessary in our lives because if you want to be forgiven you must forgive others. Everyone  makes mistakes, and yes there are times when forgiveness seems to be out of the picture, but when you are debating whether or not you are going to forgive someone, think about if you were in their shoes. Don’t say you would never be in that position because you can’t say that. Just think if you think you would deserve forgiveness in their position. Then decide.

What's so great about knowing things?

It was December 24th around 11:59 and there was no way I was going to get any sleep that night. I was about 9 years old at the time and I knew Santa was going to bring me exactly what I wanted for Christmas this year because he could read everything on my list wherever it happened to be. I couldn't wait. What did he get me? Will it be right? It'll be the best present I have ever received ever in my whole life and probably would receive for the rest of my life. The clock turned and it was Christmas but it wouldn't really be Christmas for another seven hours when I was allowed to break free from the barless cage that was normally a fantastic sanctuary but tonight was a mocking space filled with everything that I could care less about. It was all about what sat beneath the seven foot tall fake pine tree downstairs coated in shiny objects reflecting the also shiny lightbulbs wrapped around it. I couldn't possibly have been more excited, more anxious, and simply more happy than I had been at that moment.
Sometime before one in the morning I managed to dream about what my presents would be but it was cut short because the strength of my mind willed my body to arouse at exactly 7:00. I raced downstairs with my two younger brothers who of course also had the same ability to wake up at the exact right time, either that or they had been impatiently waiting for the clock to turn. Anyway, we raced downstairs to open anything we could before our parents shuffled down the stairs, our stockings were the only things that were free game. The stocking was full, you could see it. I could only imagine what was inside of it. A video game, a movie, a bucket of ice cream, a remote control car. I quickly dumped it out and found a pack of mike and ikes, a pack of reese's pieces, baseball cards, and a 3-pack of 5 gum. It was my favorite flavor of gum though so for the moment my stocking was acceptable considering I had fives of presents to open under the tree.
Finally my parents finished their mile long trek to the living room and we already had the presents divided up by person, and I already had mine in opening order. The first present I was going to open was big, I could feel something amazing in their. Maybe a remote control air hogs fighter jet, or would it be an xbox, I couldn't wait any longer so I ripped off the paper and saw an old navy box. Maybe it was just a cover up. I opened up the box and the sweatshirt inside was quickly tossed aside to make way for another gift after I searched the contents for something that was any real value to me. It didn't matter, get the worst ones out of the way first. That was from grandma anyway.
The next relative presents went next and they were okay, good, and cool, but it was finally time for Santa's present, the granddaddy. The wrapping paper was off before the box was in my hands, a little small but I knew the contents would make up for it. As I began to open up the box I noticed something on it, but it wasn't important, I opened it up and found a sheet of paper with four different bikes on it with writing that said pick one. I immediately pointed to the one I wanted and my dad said okay I will let Santa know and he will deliver it in a few days. I was ecstatic, a new bike was number one on my list and Santa always comes through. That was the last gift so I had to pick up the paper now, but I decided to take another look at the box. Bad idea. I knew the writing on the box and I knew the name too, it said "Lynnelle Sorenson" which was my stepmom's maiden name. How did Santa get her box.? Then it all hit me like a ninety five mile an hour fastball. My parents wrapped this gift, not Santa. My parents were going to get me the bike, not Santa.
As one of the biggest childhood fantasies waved goodbye to me I knew Christmas would never be the same. I could never go back to envisioning my gifts being assembled at the north pole, because after you know, you know. Part of my imagination was forced through a funnel that day. Now when Christmas rolls around I get excited for getting off school, seeing my family, going on vacation, and I guess a little bit about the presents. I will always remember the way I felt waking up that Christmas morning, but no matter how much I have thought about it, and hoped for it to come, and hoped to be able to unremember that box, life moves on, no matter what is lost along the way.

Pictures really are worth a Thousand Words

Well, for this video, my visual argument, I wanted to choose a topic that I believe in, because that always makes the argument much more real and valid. I chose the topic of stem cells because it is a current issue both scientifically and politically. I also think many people have misconceptions about stem cells and I wanted to create an argument that supported stem cell research in our society.

When I started looking for images I had an idea of the way I wanted my project to be organized. I wanted to introduce my topic at the beginning and briefly show what stem cell research consists of. I showed a woman doing stem cell research, and then I showed a picture of stem cells under a microscope to make it seem like the viewer was looking in the microscope as well. Then I showed three different types of somatic cells (blood cells, bone cells, and neurons) to give the viewers an idea of what the products of stem cell research and development can be. I also placed neurons last because those are the most important, they only regenerate every 75 years, and I wanted to leave that image with the audience.

Next I showed a picture of hands reaching out to proceed into talking about who can be helped if we utilize stem cells in our medical practices. I showed pictures of children in need of organ transplants, children with diabetes, children with birth defects, and a picture relating a cirrhosis liver to  a healthy liver. I chose to focus largely on children because children generally evoke the most emotions among an audience and makes them more likely to agree with my argument to utilize the research. I also showed the two livers because the cirrhosis is most often caused by alcohol poisoning and many people may know someone in their lives who struggles with alcohol.

Then I showed a picture of a breast cancer symbol and an old man recovering from a stroke to coincide with the part in the song where it says, “Tell my mother, tell my father” because breast cancer usually affects older women and strokes usually affect older men. This also helps connect with the viewers because many may relate to having sick parents and wanting to help them. Finally in the segment of who the research can help, I put in a picture of Jack Jablonski to show that it can help spinal cord victims, but I more specifically put it in because my target audience is very familiar with the terrible events last year that paralyzed Jablonski.

From there I put in a picture that says changes ahead to show that we have the potential to help these people if we simply make use of the technology and resources available to us. The next picture says “wasting time” because we have the ability to help these people through research but are currently in a political stalemate as to whether we want to use it or not.

Then I segued into showing babies in a dumpster because that is the picture many people have in their mind when they think of abortions. I then showed a crossed out trash can to illustrate that with stem cell research we can make use of aborted fetuses and not let them go to waste. Stem cell research can be done on these fetuses, and the next picture saying “never going back” highlights the technological progress we have made medicinally in abortion and in making use of the fetuses that were previously going to waste, but instead could be used to save lives.

In the final section I showed stem cells again just to point out that this was wrapping up the presentation. Then I showed a picture of a heart in someone’s hands to show not only that you can generate a fully functioning heart through stem cell research, but also the more figurative sense that the “hearts” of many potential patients are in our hands, and that those patients may only survive if we develop new medical processes through stem cell research. Finally I showed two hands holding another hand to wrap up the video and show that we have the ability to take care of our fellow people, and one way to do that is by allowing the use of stem cell research.

The song I chose for the video is “Second Chance” by Shinedown. I chose this song because the overall title highlights one of the ideas of the presentation, which is that we can give many people another chance at life that previously would not have had one. The lyrics also relate. “My eyes are open wide” tells how we as a society know that stem cell research is a real possibility, and that we just have to make the choice to use it. “Even the man in the moon disappeared” illustrates that the times are changing in our world, and we need to adapt to the changes around us, and one of the adaptations we can make is supporting stem cell research.

My Argument in Toulmin Terms

Toulmin structured his arguments as claims and reasons, with warrants underlying both. The claim of my argument is that stem cell research should be fully allowed in our society. The reasons behind my claim are that stem cell research can benefit large amounts of people and that scientists have linked stem cells with every aspect of human development up until birth, which means they can be used to improve the health of humans with nearly any condition. The warrant, or assumptions holding up the argument are: humans are innately compassionate, helping people is good, research leads to progress, scientists are smart, being healthy is good, doing a lot is better than doing a little.

My analysis of this was about 1000 words.