Blog Post #3 - Umberto Huh?

I promised you an Eco. So here he is.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Umberto Eco. Eco. (Sort of sounds like the second baseman for the Padres or something.)

I can assure you, he's not. He's a pretty smart guy - author, commentator, scholar, and probably whips up really good pancakes or chicken cordon bleu when he's just thinking about stuff.

ANYway, Eco wrote an article I happen to enjoy. I enjoy it because it should take all of your critical analysis skills to the limit.

Difficult? Yes. Challenging? Yes. Welcome to college. It took me four weeks, but it's time you get challenged by what you read.

I'll give you some background which may be crucial. This essay was written just after September 11, and it exemplifies academic writing. I want you to find one or two items you agree or disagree with.

Keep in mind the following: What is Eco's purpose of this essay? What is his position? Is he able to follow through on his purpose? These questions should be able to lead you to comment on this essay, as I believe there are many threads in this essay we could discuss. 300-500 words of deep thought, please.

Read the article here.

P.S. - Since my name is now synonymous with "Late Blog Posting", I'll give you five days to get this done. Consider it due on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2011.

Enjoy...

MP

Blog Post #2 - California, Here We Go

I'll give you a softball again.

Meet the most $&^%@# up state in the union, California..

This is a set of three - yes, you have to read three! - articles on the woes and troubles of the state to the left of us (if we're facing north).

'm going to post a few articles about the problems CA has, and ask you to comment on these three short pieces.

The first - from the New York Times - can be found here.

The second - from Business Insider.com - has an interesting plan. Find it here.

The third - from UK website The Guardian - is the longest. It can be found here.

Three interesting opinions. Even though they are dated (Arnold isn't governor anymore), there are still questions worth asking. And the problems have only gotten worse.

So, what say you? Should we get used to the idea of not having 50 stars on our flag anymore? Which, if any, of these ideas would you support? Or are we simply overreacting to an immediate, short term problem? Put forth your opinions and ideas in 300 words or so. This is also due MONDAY, JANUARY 24. That will put us back on track for the blogs.

Next week, the blogs get nastier. Think "Eco."

-- MP

Blog #1: Another-CSI-Theme-Song-Type of Blog

This one should be a no-brainer...

Who are you...Who? Who?
I really want to know...
-- The Who


For the first assignment on this blog, I'm giving you a softball. Write about what you know best...yourself.

Answer the basics. Who are you? Your name, your major (if you have one), the things that make you tick. Fill up about 300 words (the equivalent of a typed, double-spaced page with one inch margins) and perhaps give us a factoid or two that we couldn't guess from looking at you.

Be as personal as you choose to be, and no more. I'm not asking for deep, dark secrets, but I do want to get to know all of you more. Post your response as a comment to this blog. Later on, we'll all be authoring our own posts, but for now, a response is fine. If you can't click on "Submit", break your answer up into two parts. But 300 words or so can fit in one comment.

One more thing -- choose your theme song. Tell us what song you listen to that really is YOU. Put that in your response.

Welcome to the Class Blog!

Don't you just hate it when people use exclamation points to show enthusiasm?

Me too!!!!

Welcome to the Spring 2011 semester of College Writing I. I'm your professor, Michael Parsons, and I'll be posting topics here on a regular basis. You'll have about 12 of these to work on throughout the semester.

This is a class forum. I will start the topics, but by no means do I expect my starting points to be the end of discussion. This blog is designed for you to weigh in on topics we touch on in class -- or ones we don't.

Basic rules: 1) No flaming. 2) Be respectful of other people. You may not agree with their points, but that should not extend into any personal comments. 3) Keep it honest. Other than that, you're fine.

First assignment up soon.

-- Mr. P.