AOW #13: "The Gospel of Grohl" - The Red Bulletin, December 2011 issue

This piece was an interview with the lead singer of the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl. The interview was taken right before one of the last shows on the Foos European tour. The interviewer asked questions not only about the tour, but also about Dave’s early music “career” and how much of a career it wasn’t.

The author of this article was Andreas Rottenschlager and he writes for The Red Bulletin magazine. I did a background check on Rottenschlager but couldn’t find much plausible information on him. However, if they allowed him back stage and if he writes for a well-renouned magazine, we can guess that he is a trustworthy reporter. Also, he didn’t add any of his own insight into the article; he just allowed Grohl to answer for himself with unaltered results.

The context of this piece would be spacial, not only for the reader but for Grohl as well. It would be spacial because these posed questions required Grohl to search back into his repertoire and formulate an answer based off his past experiences. Although it could be seen as casual – because of the ongoing tour – I believe that since the entire interview wasn’t super focused on the tour and more on his earlier years, then it would be seen as spacial for both the audience and the speaker.

The purpose for this piece was to, more or less, “piece” Dave’s past together for the audience as well as for Dave so we can see the progression to where he is today (at the time, ending the Euro tour and leading up to the North American tour).  

The more obvious audience for this piece would be readers of The Red Bulletin. More specifically, it could be for avid Foo Fighters fans (going by the cover of just Dave’s face) who randomly found this article.

Some rhetorical elements used (more on Grohl’s part) would be pathos (satire). As for the interviewer: communal memory and dialogue. For Grohl, while answering the questions, he made sure to add a light, satirical sense to his responses – as he always does. You can not only sense this through his retorts (for example when he said “Ask the president of our record company…OK I am the president of our record company” – which was an intentional joke) as well as the little add-ins (such as the “[laughs]” to symbolize when Grohl was laughing, for clarification). As for the interviewer, he made sure to ask questions (the more palpable element) that would trigger communal understanding for both Grohl and the reader, which made the article easier to follow.  For example, questions like “Does it…mean anything…that 2011 is the 20^th anniversary of Nirvana’s album, ‘Nevermind,’” generates mutual understanding of the foregrounds that this interview is based upon, which allows the readers to connect to the article with ease.

Yes, the author accomplished their purpose, because even though I have a lot of background on Grohl, the Foos, and his past bands, this article opened up my eyes to who Dave really is. The personal questions and sincere replies not only enhanced my background on Grohl as a person, but they also made me love him and the Foos that much more.

AOW #12: World Of Ideas - The Sunless Sea - Rachel Carson (615-623)

This piece was about the study of the deepest depths of the ocean from how it started to current thoughts on what it’s all made of. It started off with the original studies of the deepest pits of the ocean and how the scientist conducted their research in order to gain results. For example, she talked about the surveying ship Bulldog, and how they discovered creatures in the abyss by having species actually cling to their ships. She then discusses a similar story of a line in the Mediterranean that was pulled from a depth of 1200 fathoms and held hundreds of animals and corals that grew on it from the bottom of the ocean. She then discussed different theories of what it on the utmost lowest level of the ocean. The first theory was that plankton lived on the bottom (because they moved up at night and down in the morning to avoid predators). The other theory was that squid lived on the sea floor – but that was soon refuted.

The author was Rachel Carson. She is credible because as it says in the beginning of her “chapter”, she went to the Pennsylvania College for Women and JH University and gained an extensive background in oceanography, English and Marine Biology. These three backgrounds added to her credibility because she is well educated in all of the fields that she discusses in this reading.

The exigence of this piece would be spacial. It would be spacial because she had to refer to history as far back as the 1920s (and even before) to explain that progression of scientology in the “Sunless Sea”. It would be spacial also because even though it includes somewhat current theories, it is much more historical than current.

The purpose of this piece is to inform the audience about both the progression and developments in oceanography in the deepest depths of the ocean – something scientists don’t know too much about.

The audience could actually be anyone from children/youth around the ages of 10 – 12 to older adults. It has such a wide range of appeal because of her very “easy-going” and understandable diction, syntax and content (explained next).

The most abundant rhetorical elements used in this piece were: imagery, detail, metaphor, syntax and diction. She used an abounding amount of imagery and detail while explaining the sights that the scientists discovered in these deep-depths. For example, she explained the squids as “resembling large milky white electric lamps being constantly lit and extinguished” (623). This can also count as a metaphor because she compares the lighting and diming squids with lights that turn on and off during the night. Another metaphor I found was at the end of page 621 when she was explaining the correlating patterns of the sun and the organisms: “The creatures of the layer seem almost to be help prisoner at the end – or beyond the end – of the sun’s rays throughout the hours of daylight, waiting only for the welcome return of darkness…” Here, she is comparing the organisms that must hide away during the day as “prisoners” who, in a sense, are forced to hide away from the light so no predator can see them. As previously stated, her diction and syntax were very understandable and concise. In the piece, I could tell that she tried to cut her syntax length down to a minimum so her audience could clearly understand her point. Also, much of her diction was basic to beyond-basic vocabulary terms, which allowed the reader to comprehend with ease.

Yes, they completely accomplished their purpose because they were very open, honest and holistic with their approach. They introduced new topics to their audiences in a new, simpler way and left us knowing much more about this topic – and allowed us to learn about it effortlessly.

AOW #11: Stones Near Decision on 50th Anniversary Shows

POSTED/CREATED 12/4/11

REPOSTED: 12/11/11

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/stones-near-decision-on-50th-anniversary-shows-20111123 

This piece is basically about the possible 50^th Anniversary Tour of the Rolling Stones. It is not a definite decision yet but, throughout the article, they talked to both past and present members to see what they thought of the idea. Keith Richards seemed very willing to join into the spectacle, as well as other members like Ronnie Wood (guitarist) and Bobby Keys (saxophone player). However, they seemed to be looking for Mick Jagger’s approval; especially since they just recently completed their 40^th anniversary Licks Tour. In the end, it is still up in the air but they think that if they do continue with the tour, they will only stay in a few cities rather than a full nation tour.

The author of this article is Patrick Doyle of Rolling Stone Magazine. He is credible because I found an article of him that says he was an Ithacan and New York University Alumni and since those are two very prestigious journalism schools, I can tell that he is very well educated. It also said that he started his career off by working for Ithacan as an Accent editor which means he worked a long and hard way up to get to work for Rolling Stone.

http://ithacanalumni.blogspot.com/2010/10/patrick-doyle-moves-up-at-rolling-stone.html

The context of this piece, alike to many magazine articles, would be temporal or causal. It would be temporal because it is an extremely recent article that is talking about interviews that just recently happened. It could be causal as well because although the article is very recent with new interviews, it is discussing the effect of these interviews rather than just what the interview says.

The purpose of this article was to create excitement for a very important event in the career path of the Rolling Stones. A 50^th Anniversary tour is an extremely substantial point in the history of one of the greatest bands of all time.

The obvious audience of this article was fans of the Rolling Stones – especially ones who want to see them in concert again/for the first time. However, it could also be for the general public as well whether they like the Stones or not because mostly everyone knows who they are – but not everyone knows how long they’ve been a band.

Some rhetorical elements in this piece were: communal memory, active voice, and casual tone.

There was a lot of communal memory all throughout the article, especially if you are a big Rolling Stones fan. Much of the communal memory came from the once rocky relationship of Jagger and Richards, which was a much publicized thing. Also, the communal memory was expressed through the always noticeably “snobby” persona of Mick Jagger, seen by both the media in his interviews and Richards in his book Life (which were both included in this article).

Alike to many other articles, this one had an active voice because of the many introductions of interviews – for example, “Richard says…”, “Adds Jagger…”, etc.

It also had a very casual tone (diction/syntax) because much of it was snippets of interviews and citations, so there wasn’t much room for it to be formal. Also, it is a casual rock article and formality would throw of its purpose to inform.

I believe that the author did accomplish their purpose because, as a fan (majority of the intended audience), I was not only informed of the possible tour dates, but I was also clued in to why they might or might not be happening.

IRB 2 #2: Revered Wisdom - Buddhism

This entire section was about “The Development and Spread of Buddhism”. It talked about how the Brahmans (which were the people in the highest caste in India) thought themselves to be the creators and developers of Indian religion. However, they stated that their influence wasn’t alive when the religions like Jainism and Buddhism were created. So, there was no specific start of the religion; they only know that Buddha and Mahavira (the found of Jainism) – the two people who created two of the first religions in India – learned what they know from people before their time. This section was also about all of the Buddhist beliefs that developed throughout the years. They mentioned the more publicized ones, like reincarnation, superhuman teachers, karma and nirvana, but they also went into more detail on the more unknown factors of this religion. Some beliefs they discussed were: metempsychosis and transmigration. Metempsychosis is the reincarnation after the death of a human being into an animal state (because of the belief that even water, animals and inanimate objects have souls). Transmigration is basically just another word for reincarnation: the passing of the human soul into another body after death. The book also mentions that not all derivatives of Buddhism believe in all of these beliefs, for example, specific countries that hone Buddhism may not believe that humans can be reincarnated to humans, to animals, or even at all!
This author’s writing is extremely complex because of the high formality of the diction as well as the structure of the sentences (syntax). Even though it was very complex, it was very effective because it did not use rhetoric to persuade you, but it used solely for the audiences’ understanding. First, I’ll discuss the syntax of this section. I found many examples of parallel structure and one is when they said, “They rather imply that increasing complexity involves the increase of evil as well as of good.” I’m not sure if its parallel structure is correct, however. I could not find a specific rhetoric device for this next example, but I believe that they used litotes and rhetorical analogies all throughout the section. A litote is a forceful negative statement against a positive to prove a point and an analogy is comparing two things so one appears more important or better or worse. Here is an example of a litote/analogy combined: “In Nepal it had not the same defense, it has preserved a good deal of Sanskrit…but has become little more than a sect of Hinduism.” I also could see much of the complexity when I could recognize the prevalent use of “the latter” in the entire piece.
As for the diction of the piece, I previously stated that it was extremely multidimensional. A lot of the complex dictions were religious terminologies for example: ascetic, asceticism, charlatanism, metempsychosis, and transmigration. I defined the latter above however; asceticism is a way of life that says to rid of materialistic wants in order to achieve a higher spiritual state. Charlatanism is basically quackery. There were also a lot of appositives in order to help the audience understand some repeated terminology. For example, “The full acceptance of metempsychosis – the animistic belief that plants, particle of earth, and water have souls – and the materialistic phraseology agree…” (39).

Arg/Pers Essay: John Locke

Throughout their famous writings, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau all discovered and developed novel methods of government, some of which we still use today. Many of the forms of government they discussed were based solely on the power of the leaders. However, Locke created a government based solely on the supremacy and consent of the people. He made sure to pinpoint that while under the rules of natural obligation and social contract, the people have the utmost authority. He mentions that with this type of authority, the people’s gain their well-deserved rights because their voices are heard within a government of consent. He then shows that executive stability comes from this rule where the people feel content and collective. Therefore, I believe that Locke’s form of government is the best overall because his simple rules of accordance are versatile and globally appealing.

            One of the most universal concepts that Locke introduces in his piece is the idea of democracy.  Locke talks a great deal about the makeup of a democratic society all throughout his piece. He describes it as, “the mutual agreement of men freely acting in the choice of their governors” with the people, “uniting together … free and independent … [with] no natural superiority or subjection” (sec.102). These simple principles outlined by Locke are seen in action all across the world in hundreds and hundreds of places that have taken in democratic rule. As stated by the Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century, “31% of the human population has been living in fully democratic nations”, much of the percentage deriving from nations like India and Germany.  So Locke’s global appeal is clearly represented within the wide influence of democracy.

           

Unlike many other philosophers, Locke expresses a strong sense of philanthropy while emphasizing the potency of teamwork towards one central goal. As he says in section 99, “whosoever…out of state of nature unite into a community, must…give up all the power, necessary to the ends…for [uniting].” He later mentions that the people come together to “judge the ablest, and most likely, to rule well over them” (section 107). This idea of collectivism in order to vote for a trusted leader has become the basis of many developed countries around the world. No matter what government each of these countries hone, the basis of most are found within the foundations of voting. For example, a republic, which is one of the most popular forms of government in the world, is defined as “a government in which supreme power is held by the citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives governing according to law” (usconstitution.net). The well-known concept of collective voting is a continual reminder to the world of Locke’s original philosophy.

Locke also evaluates what runs a well formulated society. He came to the understanding that the happiness of the people is the key to an efficient nation. He states that “the obligation anyone is under [within a society]…beings and ends with the enjoyment; so that whenever the owner, who has given nothing but…consent...is at liberty to go” (section 121). In simpler terms, Locke explains that anyone who is looking for a government with the will to consent and the want to be governed is allowed to leave the regime when they please, as long as it is for their pleasure. These ideologies that are introduced by Locke are then re-described as the basic civil liberties of the Declaration of Independence. As it says in the preamble, “we hold these truths to be self-evident…that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (usconstitution.net) Because Locke’s idea of a people-pleasing government is cited directly in our Declaration, we can see the large effect that Locke’s versatility has on society today.

            Although other philosophers believe that a society based on the rights and happiness of the people is too unstable, I completely disagree. As stated by the famous American writer James Cooper, “individuality is the aim of political liberty. By leaving to the citizen as much freedom of action and of being, as comports with order and the rights of others, the institutions render him truly a freeman. He is left to pursue his means of happiness in his own manner.” Here, Cooper draws out a governmental syllogism about the unity of the people. He says that when the individuality and individual rights of the people come together, it leads to political collectiveness.  So, if the people’s individual rights are expressed in the collective, then the citizens are happy. As a result, with a contented and consented community, there will be a well-run government because if those who hold the most amount of power are pleased, then society as a whole will be just fine.

           

            As expressed through his great influence around the world, Locke has proved to us that his form of government comes out on top above the rest. With his original, simple and understandable ideas of a well formed society, he has led to the foundation of governments on a global scale. The idea of democracy, independence and voting have all derived from his genius listed in The Second Treatise of Civil Government. In conclusion, Locke’s hard work and fortitude paid off, and all because he kept the people in mind.

SOURCES:

http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/20centry.htm

http://www.usconstitution.net/declar.html

The Second Treatise of Civil Government -John Locke