Where I'm From

I come from a growing suburbia in the middle of the great state of Minnesota.  The growing town of Monticello is developing at an exponential rate most prominently due to its ideal location between the large metropolises of Minneapolis and St. Cloud.  The geography of the town is unique and gives the town a diverse vibe.  On one side of town lies the Mississippi River, then through the middle of town lays rolling hills that get larger to the further north of town.  I grew up on the outskirts of the northern part of town in a wooden home that sits on top a large hill overlooking a small lake.  It’s a scenic place abundant with wildlife with frequent encounters of wild deer, foxes and squirrels.   Living in the wilderness has always given me an appreciation for the beauty that Mother Nature has to offer.  Many nights I would find myself lying on my raft out in the middle of the lake looking up at a full moon surrounded by stars.  I appreciated the diversity in environment the most when running throughout the town and the wildlife always presented a challenge in trying to catch them.  The smell of freshly baked muffins on our early morning runs helped motivate me to keep up with the others, while the sounds of constant banging from the vast amounts of construction in town kept our steps in tempo.  The construction sites in their wide abundance seemed to hide some of the best hidden treasures, such as an old stop light that was about to be thrown away.  Such a wonderful masterpiece should not be tossed in the trash so it was then used to indicate the start of each practice.  Overall I come from a friendly neighborhood and thriving community that has fulfilled me with all kinds of memories I wouldn’t trade for the world. 

Naomi Klein's Lecture: Addicted to Risk

Naomi Klein was effective as a speaker through her appeals to emotion.  The graphic images of the Gulf oil spill and the tearing up of the tar sands were effective means shocking the audience at what people have done to our planet.  In the end I did feel a call to action in changing the current practices and mindsets that people do not have to change their current ways.  She was able to shed light on how despite society has become to maintain its current structure; however there were some things that hindered her presentation.  Although she was at Woman’s seminar there was no need for her to blame the problem on males.  It seemed as if she was pointing her finger at everyone that was doing the world wrong.  As a male I was deeply offended at her points against how it was our fault in ruining nature for it was large generalization of all men.  Another problem I noticed was that she never referenced as to where the information she was presenting came from.   To be a credible speaker one would think that sourcing the place the information was coming from would be essential.  As I mentioned the images she showed of the destruction of nature were relevant and did well at backing up her main point.  However, there were many images that I felt were unnecessary.  The one word slides can be very beneficial in getting a main point across to the audience, but it becomes redundant when overused.  Also the images of the research boat she traveled on, the dice on the craps table and of a typical sign on a men’s bathroom door were distracting, taking away from the main point she was trying to convey.  In fixing these few negatives I believe that her would improve tremendously and make her seem to be a much more credible speaker.

Photo Project: On The Run

I have always felt most at home as I ran throughout the beaten paths around my home in Monticello, Minnesota.  Being a devotional runner throughout my life I have always felt at my best running.  Whether I was sick or feeling down made no difference as everything seemed to magically go away as I began my daily run.   Some of the most remembered paths I took were with my cross country team traveling in search of new places.    Every weekend we would go on long runs discovering hidden parts of the town that very few people know exist.  My visual representation shows a glimpse at the routine places I visit on my travels.

I start my visuals with my most prized possessions, my shoes.  The dirt and smudges on them lay as scars from the intense wear of running along the off road terrain.  However, no run would be complete without the companionship of my dog Mickey.  The following seven images display scenery around my house.  This includes the scenic view of the lake from my front porch, my steep twisting driveway, the small hut where I would wait for the bus, and my winter parking space.  The next fourteen photographs showcase the local sledding hill, a fox running away, the rocky terrain along the Mississippi river, some typical climbing trees and a nearby playground.  These were some of the most common places that I ran around, however these are fairly well known places throughout the community.  It is the last six that depict the hidden wonder discovered on a particularly lengthy run.  Tucked away behind the water tower lies an abandoned radio station where the entire town can be seen.  Since very few knew of this hidden location, it had become a storage place for any treasures stumbled upon.  When I revisit these places I am reminded of the wonderful times I had running with my friends and the random adventures we would partake.

Citations

National Farm Institute, Des Moines. Corporate Farming and the Family Farm. 1st ed. Ames: Iowa State UP, 1970. Print.

Thu, Kendall. "The Centralization of Food Systems and Political Power - Thu - 2009 - Culture & Agriculture." The Centralization of Food Systems and Political Power 31.1 (2009): 13-18. Wiley Online Library. American Anthropological Association, 8 June 2009. Web. 05 Apr. 2011. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1556-486X.2009.01013.x/full>.

Omnivore's Dilemma by: Michael Pollan

In The Omnivore's Dilemma Michael Pollan tells of the hidden truths of our food production industry.  Most consumers, including me do not realize the extensive process behind the production of our food.  This is because companies hide their process for they know that it may hinder consumers from buying their products.  Pollan does a good job at enlightening people to this secret process and pointing out the negative impacts it is having.  He makes his argument seam valid through his research and by siting all of the sources he used.  This is essential for the author to appear to be credible.  Through reading this story and watching Food Inc right afterward my appetite for food is absolutely none existent.  To hear of how prevalent disease is becoming in this new mechanized system makes me wonder as to why nothing has been done to change they process the food is prepared.  An example of this is the whole issue of feeding cattle corn.  In doing so not only is the nutritional value of meat lost, but the animal has an increased chance of dieing due to the gas built up from the decomposing   the corn.  Overall I found this story to be quite fascinating and presented a ton of information.  Yet the read was quite entertaining through Pollan's style of giving the facts in small chunks rather than all at once.

The Everyday Writer

In chapter seven of the Everyday Writer I learned that by creating an organizational plan or outline can really help when trying to put together one's ideas.   Before this I had always just gone right ahead and tried to write out my whole paper.  This usually left it fairly unorganized and often times I would find myself getting off topic.  I think that by making myself an outline or organizational plan I will  have a much better sense of what to include in my written analysis paper.  Due to the complexity of my story I was writing on I was having a hard time narrowing down my thesis, but with a clear plan I think it will become much easier to do.  Overall I think that there are quite a few areas where I still need improvement as a writer, but after reading this I feel that I have a much better grasp on the planning and drafting part of an essay.

Analysis Paper Claim

Henry David Threau attempts to bring meaning of life through the simplicity found within his environment at Walden Pond.  He does this through imagery of how chaotic sociey had become, his tone and word choice.