Self Evaluation

            

 1.

              My first semester at Penn State went by pretty quickly. A lot of information was thrown at me over the past couple months. One specific area where I learned a lot, is writing. The most important thing I’ve learned in English this year is to use my voice in my writing. No one needs to use long words or ridiculous sentences to be a good writer. All you need to do is find your own voice, and stick to it in your writing. Aside from that, one of the first things we learned this year was how to use rhetoric tools. One thing that I took from the lessons was how to use pathos, ethos, and logos for effective writing. Pathos can be used to appeal to an audience’s emotions, whether it’s vivid imagery or compelling words. Ethos is used to appeal to the ethics of an audience, establishing a writer’s credibility with them. Logos is for appealing to the logic of your audience, by reasoning or even persuasive language. Throughout the year, I learned to apply these rhetoric tools to my writing. First, I applied them to write a visual analysis paper on an advertisement, next to write a memoir on an important time in my life.

            Writing and rhetoric were not the only topics covered in class this semester. We also learned a lot about Penn State, and how the arts are involved at the university. For starters, Penn State has on of the most prestigious English departments in the country. Each and every day, there are opportunities to go out and get involved in the arts community. One thing that Penn State has that a lot of other colleges may not have is its own art museum. The Palmer Museum of Art is filled with a wide variety of art exhibits, and it is definitely worth the trip. Penn State also has a great theatre department. For our class we saw them put on an excellent performance of In the Red and Brown Water at the Playhouse Theatre, one of many venues at the school. Another venue where more famous artists perform is the Bryce Jordan Center, where concerts and events are held year round. Our class also made a visit to the university’s arboretum, possibly one of the most scenic, unknown spots on campus. One other kind of art we explored during our time together as an English class is cinema. We attended the IAH Film Festival at the State College Theatre downtown. There was a diverse selection of movies to see all centered around a college theme.

            One last area where I made some discoveries this semester is in myself. I always dreaded writing of any kind in high school. These past few months though, I don’t mind it as much, I’m actually starting to feel comfortable writing papers. Another thing I realized over the semester is that I do enjoy most of the arts here. The theatre was interesting as well as the Palmer Museum. I also enjoyed the arboretum and the IAH Film Festival. Overall, I’m glad I decided to take English 15S here at Penn State. 

 2.
 

1. http://pbandkelly122.blogspot.com/2012/10/old-school.html?showComment=1349407988102#c4765733724815156899

2. http://sedwards10.blogspot.com/2012/09/my-blog-analysis.html?showComment=1349973954759#c3685611853529927918

3. http://satisfyyourbordom.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-beautiful-arboretum.html?showComment=1349974297548#c1076610293658601884

4. http://showmetheartspa.blogspot.com/2012/09/photos.html?showComment=1354049693120#c8197198479838965137

5. http://bblissfullyblogging.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-red-and-brown-water.html?showComment=1354049908883#c1146286373001559072

6. http://sedwards10.blogspot.com/2012/10/animal-house-review.html?showComment=1354056599436#c4687542938018464285

7. http://kristinajoelle.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-red-and-brown-water.html?showComment=1354057206629#c3578144482515808511

8. http://obrienseyes.blogspot.com/2012/11/5-in-red-and-brown-water.html?showComment=1354388897381#c7962628957158441642

9. http://kaylaswritten.blogspot.com/2012/10/artscultural-response-undergraduate.html?showComment=1354724420241#c4127487684952129978

    10.    http://partyar.blogspot.com/2012/09/man-and-woman-seated-richard-diebenkorn.html?showComment=1355182492691#c8853077124325847571


 3.

Hey Mrs. S--- I completed my SRTE online !

Arts/Cultural Response: Wiz Khalifa 2050 Tour

Wiz Khalifa and company turned up the volume at the Bryce Jordan Center in October when the 2050 Tour came to town. Other big name performers Juicy J and Chevy Woods accompanied Wiz Khalifa on the October 12^th stop of his North American tour. A few friends and I decided to grab tickets and check it out. Why not when we get the student discount?

This was not only my first concert at the Bryce Jordan Center, but it was also my first rap concert. I’ve gone to see Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Train, and Zac Brown Band in concert before, but never any hip-hop artists. I expected the show to be good, I do like a lot of Wiz Khalifa songs, but I just didn’t expect a rap concert to capture the same live performance feeling as a rock or country concert. I knew the beats and even some of the lines at the concert would just be recordings, and I felt that that wouldn’t be the same as hearing artists actually playing their instruments for the crowd. In that sense I was right, but the live performance put on by Wiz Khalifa was mind blowing.

Student tickets were all general admission, which basically means first-come first-serve. So my friends and I got to the BJC about an hour early, and we ended up standing pretty close to the stage. By the time Wiz Khalifa came on, about three quarters of the floor was filled up. It was hot, crowded, and really loud as Wiz Khalifa began his first song. The whole mass of people immediately began to bounce up and down to the beat of the song. From that point on, the atmosphere in the BJC was electric. The best part in my opinion is when he played the song “Never Been,” my favorite song from one of his older mix-tapes. One thing that surprised me about Wiz Khalifa was his on-stage persona. He danced around on stage and held the microphone stand like an old rock star bursting with charisma. I definitely did not expect to see that from a rapper.

             My friends and I all really enjoyed the concert. The Bryce Jordan Center is a great venue to see an act perform at. I would definitely go to another show there, however I don’t know if I would go see another rapper aside from Wiz Khalifa. His live performance was amazing and I think that sets him apart from other hip-hop artists.

Uncaged

Uncaged, The Zac Brown Band’s third studio album hit the shelves on July 10, 2012. It is the first release from the band since they put out You Get What You Give in 2010. The album, like its predecessor, landed itself on the top of the Billboard Hot 200 during the first week of sales. However, something sets Uncaged apart from Zac Brown Band’s previous two albums. Band member Clay Cook describes the band’s first two releases as simply “collections of songs,” whereas Uncaged is an “album” (1). That being said, this CD is best listened to from start to finish, rather than jumping from track to track.

The album kicks things off with “Jump Right In,” a song that will put your mind on vacation in the Bahamas. Title track “Uncaged” only adds to the collection of Jimmy Buffet style lyrics. The beginning of the album continues to flare with upbeat ocean music. Zac Brown sings a deeper mood with the slow paced radio hit “Goodbye In Her Eyes.” Bob Marley and Bacardi are sung of on the reggae-country-rock tune “Island Song.” What you can really see in the first half of Uncaged is where Zac Brown Band is branching their country roots outward. Zac Brown himself referred to the new album as: “your basic Country-Southern rock-bluegrass-reggae-jam record” (2). The album continues to amaze right through the next few tracks. “Natural Disaster” starts off with a slow pace that develops into an upbeat country jam. The last two songs on the record “Day That I Die” and “Last but Not Least,” are filled with rich chords and deep country lyrics.

You can clearly see how much Zac Brown Band has changed since their first album years ago. Uncaged is filled with a variety of songs all with roots in different areas of music. Quite the opposite of the band’s first album The Foundation, filled with mostly bluegrass-country style music. Experimenting with new sounds can be a good thing for any group, but an act like the Zac Brown Band will always stay true to their down home roots.

Overall: 7/10

Sources: 

(1) http://tasteofcountry.com/zac-brown-band-uncaged-album-details/

(2) http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120425/wire/120429730?tc=ar