Blog Post Omega

Oh, goodness... these blog posts... I have never been much of a blogger, and I'm guilty of making fun of them before I started attending this class. But I did grow fond of them after Natalie started them up. I'm not saying that I'm head over heels for blogging, but when the prompt is right, I really enjoyed blogging. As far as turning assignments in, the blog did make it much easier. Assignments on blogs were easier to write, and I didn't have to go through the hassle of printing, which obviously is such a hard feat to accomplish. Mainly, I did it for the trees. The only problem is that the blogs made it harder to remember that there was actually an assignment, so that got me a couple of times. Most of the time, I was fine though.

Actually reading other classmate's blogs was probably the best part about blogging (if the prompt was awesome, of course). I liked being able to see what others were thinking, much like a "window into the soul." Seeing others blogs and opinions helped a lot with my other assignments and blogs as well. It helps to see how others are doing assignments, so I can have a rough idea of what to do.

But, alas, this is the final blog post of the semester. And thus we see, I was never a good blogger, nevertheless, the assignments have been completed subpar. And it came to pass that I shall move on, and hopefully keep my attitude positive as life continues on, and judge not others for their blog posts. So farewell, friends. Thus, Christian Rock ends. Adieu, adieu, adieu...

Website Analysis

The website I'll be analyzing is the Harold B. Lee Library site.

One thing to remember about this website is that its purpose is not necessarily to catch your eye, but to make research as easy as possible. So while this website isn't immediately grabbing my attention, it more importantly isn't making me want to gouge my eyes out and cry for help.
The most important things that make this site effective for its purpose is proximity, alignment, and color. Proximity for this site groups all the relatable links next to each other. This is very important for a research site because it puts all different categories in an organized manner. Links that relate, such as reserving a room to study, or to talk to a librarian, are put close to each other. With alignment, the text isn't just all over the place, but placed in an organized manner. That one is pretty straight forward. Color is the best way that this site organizes it's different sections. The way it does this is the color of its text, for both the headers and the text underneath the headers. Headers are red, bringing your attention to what the section is about, and the text underneath is blue, which are the links. This way, the information is much more organized. Also, the colors are not distracting at all.

Websites

My solution to my issue in my paper has been relatively straightforward: Research. And lots of it. Going to the library is a great way to make me focus, and there are many other sources I can find there. Also, Google scholar is fantastic.

Effective Websites:
Apple
Fox News
BYU Harold B. Lee Library
Wells Fargo

Ineffective Websites:
Rate My Professors (I use this regardless)
Sixties Press
Audiko
BeeMP3

Patchwriting is Bad

“We do not in everyday life reflect much on how one people’s ‘myth’ may be another people’s religion or episteme. What ‘we’ label ‘myth’ from other cultures then translates into the ‘that’s just a myth!’ formula that implicitly sustains the value of our own beliefs. Thus trivialized—though in different ways—both outside and within Western culture, ‘myth’ in common English-language usage today is the object of exoticizing amusement or dismissal; it is deprived of its associations with history, knowledge, and vision—what has made myth culturally valuable and has most fascinated scholars of myths and traditional narratives” (Bacchilega 25).


My attempt:


According to Bacchilega, we often forget that what we may think of as fantasy, someone else may regard as truth, or what they truly believe in. We seem to put our own beliefs in the way of others, disregarding what they believe as fiction. This leads to a mindset of "that's just a myth" (Bacchilega 25).


And my biggest problem with my paper is citing sources. Not just putting them in my paper, but actually finding them. It isn't as easy as it looks.

Library Tutorial

Believe it or not, I was actually doing some research, and I was only distracting a little bit by the iPads. But really, I want one of those things...

During Monday's lesson, I was able to learn some great links to aid for research. I have used the library's database before, but I never really went as far in depth as we did this instance. I actually now know where all the links are to databases that would provide more in-depth information on the topic that I'm researching.  I think the best one was the Scholarly Journal section. That is probably the most valuable database I learned to access. But it's not just about the databases. It's also about narrowing my search down, which I also learned how to do for the different search sites. That will help immensely with actually finding applicable information, and not the other articles that lures me in with a cool title. Even books seem easier and more accessible. I was never a really big fan of research through books, but the way the library makes it work is so much simpler. Though I still dislike books, I will have a better time finding them.

Paper Proposal

I apologize for the lateness of this proposal. I just couldn't find any topic that I was interested in. But I think I may have something now:

The topic I think I will be doing is Stem Cell Research, with something along the lines of it being beneficial, to a certain degree. I know that there is controversy on the ethical side of this type of research. I do know that this is one of those really big issues that a lot of people write about, so right now, I'm working on narrowing my topic down to something  that is more relatable to us.

I have not done any research on this topic further than what I know. But my stance is that stem cell research is beneficial for the furthering of medicine, and healing ailments. But the ethic side of stem cell research only goes so far. And there is a point when stem cell research is not ethic.

If anyone would like to input their thoughts, that would be greatly appreciated. I'm still having a hard time narrowing my topic down...

20 Things I May or May Not Enjoy

1. Politics
2. The media's effect on how people view attractiveness
3. The Space Program/Space
4. The Gospel of Jesus Christ :D
5. Today's Music
6. The effects of today's music
7. The falling standards of today's youth
8. The internet's effect on the public
9. Illegal Immigration
10. Science
11. Pirating
12. Oil Reserves in Alaska
13. Dating today
14. The effects of Social Media on communication
15. Effects of sleep deprivation (it's really late right now)
16. Dogs are better than Cats
17. Music in general.
18. Cooking
19. The effects of Video Games
20. Women