ENG 101

Jan. 31, 2018 Assignment Sheet Checklist: Find a fixed and specific text that desires you Analyze your text to discover why it matters to you and the world Think of ways to argue this importance Create a draft of the three steps provided in the assignment sheet Take draft through the basic requirements listed on the assignment sheet Create a final draft Things I Do When I Write a Paper: Brief research of the topic to get an idea of what I’m going to write about Brief research of the essay requirements and how I’ll fit them with my topic Deeper research into the topic Create a free-write rough draft without thinking of grammar or grading Compare my draft to the essay requirements and change/add what is needed. Create a final draft Things I Should Do When Writing a Paper but Don’t Do: Pay more attention to grammar and proper vocabulary choices Research topic more in depth Not Procrastinate so that ideas can flow in a less rush...

Brandon Walker ENG 101 Jan. 25, 2018 Food Blog Entry Food has always been my favorite part of travelling. It’s often the adventure and mystery of trying something new that excites me but even eating something you’ve had your whole life in an environment that is unfamiliar to you can change your entire perspective on it. This occured to me once while travelling to the mountains with some friends and family. It was a frigid and exhausting trip but fun nonetheless. After an entire day of physical activity we all were craving some food to bring us back to life. We all agreed on pho on the way home, although it was a meal we all grew up with and were very used to. We found a spot and ordered our food. Something about the food was different. There wasn’t some strange ingredient or anything. Everything physically about the food was the same but something about the time, place, people, and emotions at that time evoked a different connection and appreciation to the bowl we’ve look...

Song Blog Entry: “So What” - Miles Davis Songs that typically pull me in have an element of unexpectedness and mystery to them. The intro to this tune begins with an abstract modal duo of piano and bass drifting your focus and sense of direction in all ways. The time this was recorded, such a concept was rare as jazz was fairly straight forward with structure. Davis was a forward thinking artist and always brought unorthodox ideas to the table, some of which were brilliant and some of which sounded like madness. The tune kicks of with an iconic swinging bass line followed by two simple chords that say so much. Although the song was written without lyrics, who can hear and feel the horns, piano, bass, and drums chanting “Soooo What” within the sequence. Following the head of the tune Miles comes in the play one of the greatest improvisatory jazz solos of all time. Miles was an artist who didn’t just play notes, he played silence. And this stuck with me for many years and still does....

Brandon Walker Jan. 24, 2018 ENG 101 Roland Barthes: The Pleasure of The Text Notes Difficulty in reading: 4 Difficulty in extracting ideas: 4 Commonalities within art I enjoy: Emotionally evocative whether it be negative or positive occasionally humorous Relatability Charisma Unexpectedness. "The text is a fetish object, and this fetish desires me"

Brandon Walker Jan. 22, 2018 ENG 101 Alexie In “Why the Best Kids Books are Written in Blood” Alexie tries to inform the reader on a way of thinking in which he feels is not properly executed in society. He believes children who go through hell should not be shielded by hell in their media and should instead be presented with something to relate to or identify with in order to help them cope and give them a vision for a positive future. It helps them feel less alone in their hardships. Three things that support the central goal of the article : Alexie does not believe it to be reasonable to shield young adults from horrors in their books considering they live through it in real life. Alexie believes that people of all colors and backgrounds can relate in some way to writing of this kind Alexie remembers growing up in similar situations to a lot of his readers and wishes he had what he is providing when he was growing up.

Jan.11, 2018 Alexie Response : “The Best Books are Written in Blood” Without prior knowledge of Alexie’s YA novel I am able to get a grasp of its contents as this article is peppered with evidence that Alexie’s novel contains controversial topics for novels that target this age group such as: Rape, Drugs, sex, violence, etc. Alexie is directly responding to an article which complained that the book contains topics too graphic for young readers and that it is shameful that YA novels are going in this direction. With this article, Alexie provides very persuasive and  argumentative thoughts as to why he believes that this claim is wrong and even contributing to the problems of young adults who go through hell every day. Alexie starts by talking about the plethora of fans he has encountered and the praise and love he has received from them. He also mentions how he has not once encountered a letter of hate of debilitation from any of the readers of his novel. He does this, n...

Jan.11, 2018 Alexie Response : “The Best Books are Written in Blood” Without prior knowledge of Alexie’s YA novel I am able to get a grasp of its contents as this article is peppered with evidence that Alexie’s novel contains controversial topics for novels that target this age group such as: Rape, Drugs, sex, violence, etc. Alexie is directly responding to an article which complained that the book contains topics too graphic for young readers and that it is shameful that YA novels are going in this direction. With this article, Alexie provides very persuasive and  argumentative thoughts as to why he believes that this claim is wrong and even contributing to the problems of young adults who go through hell every day. Alexie starts by talking about the plethora of fans he has encountered and the praise and love he has received from them. He also mentions how he has not once encountered a letter of hate of debilitation from any of the readers of his novel. He does this, not...

Jan. 11, 2018 What is the author trying to say or do ? The author is trying to aid and educate the reader into what he believes is the proper and most effective what to mark a book and why you should do so. How is the author saying or doing those things ? The author provides an insight to his ways of thinking, provides clever analogies to help understanding, and provides direct reasons in which he thinks this idea is necessary. What do you think of this piece ? I think this piece provides helpful and interesting points on why marking a book is necessary and gives the reader encouragement and incentive to want to do so.  

Jan. 10, 2018 Adler Response Adler begins his essay with the idea that to truly understand something, you must read in between the lines. He’s trying to say that to get to the true meaning of something you must dig deeper than surface level. He then begins to list out various types of book owners and states that a true book owner is one whose books are thoroughly read and marked from head to toe while people with large collections of unread and untouched books are merely owners of “woodpulp and ink”. He makes sure to clarify that there are some rare and valuable books in which he would never put the slightest mark in. But holding a book in that regard is more respectful to the physical shell of a book rather than the content which makes it what it is. Alder makes the comparative analogy of books being more like written pieces of music rather than statues or portraits of visual art. The beauty in visual art lies in the masterful construction of the piece and what it means to th...