Zimbabwe's Ahab

Argument: Robert Mugabe has dictatorially ruined Zimbabwe and unjustly wants re-election.

Audience: Immediately it is the readers of the LA Times, but it is meant for those who are involved/interested in the international political arena.

Ethos: The author speaks of his personal experiences as a white subject of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. He seems very credible, because he was there before and after liberation in 1980, and he personally witnessed Zimbabwe's rise and fall. He doesn't seem like just another "talking head" or inexperienced pundit.

Pathos: He describes the young Zimbabwe as the Switzerland of Africa, in that it was the richest, most literate and prosperous nation on the continent, often helping its neighbors as well. He paints a bright, positive image of the young Zimbabwe, and he contrasts that with its dark, depressing current state. His description of Mugabe almost leaves you with your jaw open, (wondering how in the world is he still in power!).

Logos: His information is accurate. He uses statistic after statistic (granted, with no direct references cited) to show how dire Zimbabwe 's situation is under Mugabe.

I think it is a very effective argument. I took interest a little while ago in Zimbabwe and already knew some stuff about Mugabe, and my opinion of him was not that high. I did read actual speeches of his, though, and found that he is a very persuasive, intelligent, impressive orator. This article, written by an actual Zimbabwean, really puts things in perspective. I wish more people knew about what was happening over there.

Enthymeme: Robert Mugabe should not be re-elected because he has been the primary cause of Zimbabwe's downfall.

Robert Mugabe is the primary cause of Zimbabwe's downfall because he has slighted the nation for his own fortune and interest, he has destroyed efforts to have free elections, and he is starving what once was the breadbasket of Africa.

S- While the article is pretty thorough, I don't think it will have a widespread impact, mostly because many do not take interest in international affairs. Robert Mugabe has shown that he can rig an election in the past, and the same is likely to happen now (especially that he printed over 9 million pro-Mugabe ballots for his 5.7 million voter electorate).

T- This is a typical argument against a dictator. There is nothing outlandish or revolutionary about the content.

A- I believe the article to be accurate. The author himself saw his family lose their money and land because Mugabe wanted to give to his cronies. He himself experienced some of what Zimbabwe has had to pass through. I have read other sources and have found that most of the information is very accurate.

R- It is very relevant, indeed, since the elections are coming this Saturday. However, those who will read the LA Times will not likely be Zimbabwean voters, especially since no Zimbabwe diaspora is granted voting rights.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-godwin25mar25,0,7210173.story

I've been up since three o'clock this morning and have had one hellish day. I don't feel like writing about any of mu sources or some other argument or style analysis. I am getting sick, and my throat is burning. My wife has the exact same symptoms I have. Hopefully our baby doesn't get sick from being with us.
I hate my Irish Dance class. It is called a beginner's course, yet nearly everyone else in there is already a dancer, and a lot of the steps are at a level higher than a beginner like me can catch onto quickly. I dread that class more than I do any other class, and that includes Theoretical Syntax and my senior seminar.
Today I was sick, so I sat out the entire class. My wife is in the class too, so we have our baby each week. He is usually well-behaved, though the lack of attention sometimes gets him upset. Today I had him in my lap as I sat there on the wall. I was so tired and sick that I fell asleep, but I managed to fall asleep sitting up and still supporting him in my arms and lap. He was mesmerized by the dancing and noise. He has never really gotten to see the dancing that takes place. He was so interested that he barely made a peep the entire class period. He would specifically watch my wife, even when she had her back to turned to our direction. She ended up near us in one of the steps, and he yelled out, "Mom!" Of course, he is only three months old, so he most likely wasn't actually saying a real word. His babbling just happened to come out in that sequence of sounds which coincided with a real English word, one very applicable at that moment. It was really cute.

Free write

My grandfather's Uncle Kazimer and Aunt Ona left Lithuania in 1900, which was earlier than most of the family left. They moved to England to live in a small Lithuanian community in Manchester. They had two little daughters there. In early 1904, the family was hit by a flu epidemic going around England. Both daughters died, one being two and a half and the other about nine months old. Kazimer and Ona, distraught, left England in search of a better life in America. Here they started their family again, and the two daughters were not mentioned very much. In fact, nobody remembered the girls' names after Kazimer and Ona died. Their children have all died off as well. My dad's cousin (the granddaughter of Kazimer and Ona) told me last year that there were two daughters who were born and died in England, yet nobody knew anything about them. I wanted to find them so they could all be sealed together (we sealed Kazimer and Ona and their children born here in the US in December). I looked many times for the girls' records, but to no avail. I kind of gave up last year and figured I would probably have to wait until the Millennium to find who they were. However, I felt impressed to look through some random British records on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning (as I was in class, actually...). These were records I had searched through before and found nothing, so I wasn't quite sure what to look for. However, after a bit of looking and playing around with the name spellings (their last name was spelled like five different ways by the British), I found the two girls whose dates and birthplaces made them very likely candidates for the two daughters. I sent the info to my dad's cousin, and she felt very impressed that they were the two girls looked for. She's not a member of the Church or anything, but she had a very strong impression that they were the two daughters, so much that she told me she was sure that they were the girls. I felt the same. We found them! We were able to seal them to their parents yesterday in the Provo temple. It was wonderful. I am sure they were all happy to be together once again. I can't imagine how it was for Kazimer and Ona, too. Imagine losing your first two children, little girls, to disease in a foreign land you really didn't know, with most of your family still in the old country. They died over a hundred years ago! They have waited that long to be found and rejoined to their parents.

In-class paragraph

Audience: consumers of Krispy Kreme vanilla cream-filled doughnuts

Krispy Kreme lovers who wish to eat as healthily as possible must face this question every time they buy a doughnut: "Which doughnut choice is the healthiest option?" Now, we all have our personal favorites; some like classic original glazed, while others like the sleek, cosmopolitan "doughnut of the month." Some prefer doughnut holes, and others cream-filled doughnuts. For those who like vanilla-filled doughnuts, particularly, the two options are: 1. chocolate frosted or 2. glaze-covered. Saturated fat accounts for the greatest nutritional difference between the two. The chocolate-covered has around 10% more saturated fat that the glaze-covered. Therefore, glaze-covered is the healthier cream-filled doughnut.



Sorry! I just recently did some goofy paper about the healthier choice between Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and I used that same data for this. It was kind of fresh on my mind.

Indiana Jones movie trailer

http://www.imdb.com/video/user/me705352951/
Here's the link for anyone who hasn't seen it and/or wants to see it.

Main point: GO SEE THE NEW INDIANA JONES MOVIE.

Audience: Movie watchers, Americans, fans of previous Indiana Jones movies and maybe women who still think Harrison Ford is hot...?
(I am joking about that last part, though I know that there are women who do find him attractive, even though he's like 120 years old)

Ethos: The movie relies heavily on highlights from the previous Indiana Jones movies, showing how "He protected the power of the divine, ...saved the cradle of civilization," and "triumphed over the armies of evil." The artists use his past conquests and expeditions as justification for another movie. It is credible that Indiana Jones, though a little long in the tooth, would still have an adventure or two packed in him. It also uses the image of the American flag to show how American he really is, and how he can "save America" again.

Logos: The images from the previous movies are real (in that they do come from the other movies). Of course, Indiana Jones movies do not exactly portray nature and the force of gravity, for example, as they really are. He is able to undertake stunts that would kill most, including flying into the windshield of an oncoming truck and making a coy remark about it, as you stand up unscathed. It does portray Indiana Jones as being older and a bit rougher around the edges, which is logical, since his last adventure was roughly four centuries ago.

Pathos: The music automatically attracted me. I am a huge fan of music in general, especially orchestral pieces, including some movie scores. If I know a movie has an awesome score, it will give me more impetus to go see it. The music appeals to my tastes and emotions. Furthermore, the artists use the image of the American flag to appeal to the American audience, since Indiana Jones is the quintessential United States-ian action hero (in my opinion). If you watch it closely, they show this black box with official print on it saying "Roswell, New Mexico" the bastion of alien lore, as well as the general vicinity of Area 51. That will pique the attention and intrigue of alien legend and governmental conspiracy lovers.

S-I think the trailer is sufficient to get some people to watch the movie. I know I want to watch it, though my wife saw the trailer and felt it wasn't captivating enough to convince her to watch the movie.

T-It follows the typical movie trailer schema, using engaging images and catchy quotes from the movie, combined with perfectly timed explosions, kisses, races, chases, and the like.

A-I think it basically is accurate in showing the content of the Indiana Jones movie, though I do not know for sure since I haven't seen the movie for myself (it comes out in May).

R-It is indeed relevant, because many folks have been wanting a fourth Indiana movie for two decades.

Success- I can't say whether or not it is a success, since the movie has not come out yet, but I have seen several links for the trailer on websites and blogs. That means that at least people are taking note. I imagine the initial turnout will be huge, maybe even record-breaking.

I am tired physically, tired mentally, tired emotionally, and tired of writing about friggin' energy or education (as I completely lack one and am bombing the other). Ergo, I am not going to analyze another one of my sources or anything like that (no rhetorical analysis right now). I don't know where I want to start on my next paper. I guess one issue I could write about "waiting periods" some insurance plans make you go through. What I mean is that if you have a preexisting condition (like epilepsy or mutant-third-eye-in-the-back-of-your-head syndrome) and you take medication for said condition, you have to wait anywhere from 30 to 90 days before the insurance plan will pay for that medication. I know they have reasons for it, though I don't know too well what they are. I, for example, have epilepsy. I take this one medicine twice a day which makes me completely normal (if you could call me "normal" in the first place). However, those pills without insurance cost $5.00 a piece (at least that was the price four years ago; who knows about now). Fortunately my insurance plan through work is one of the seemingly few that do not require that waiting period. That is really really good for me, since I can't afford to go a certain period of time before getting my medicine. I know that a lot of other insurance plans have that waiting period because I looked at many plans before I got my current job. In fact, that insurance is really my main motivation for staying at that job. Anyway, I can read about the justification insurance companies make when requiring this period, I can read about the counter arguments by insurance companies which do NOT require that period, etc. We'll see what I can rustle up.

About my intro (an addendum)

I have no idea why, but I cannot read the content of my introduction after the addressees unless I highlight the text. I tried fixing it to no avail. You may have to do that, too. If it comes up fine for you though, disregard this message.