wiki 5 20/20 - great analysis... and I am glad you took the time to revisit that speech! You HAVE learned a lot this unit.. and you have really improved in your own skills too!

Wiki Public Speaking 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX1EggUHfSc

- For this final wiki for our public speaking i decided to revisit one of the first speaches we were shown to introduce us to this unit.  Joseph Fiennes, a famous actor, is giving a speach about the abuses of the oil companies and in specifically those in Angola.  Fiennes delivers his speach with great effectiveness.  He shows clear cut examples and shows his true emotional connection to the topic that he is speeking about.  Fiennes has good eye contact and doesn't get glued to his paper that is guiding him.  By the looks of the speech I would guess Fiennes is using a manuscript.  For using a manuscript Fiennes does a great job of not just reading his speach but presenting it in a way as if he is almost talking to you.  Also Fiennes does not allow the script to swallow his personality either.  Also Fiennes does a great job of keeping his composure even though you can tell he is emotionally hurt by the facts that he is sharing in his speach.  All around this speech by Fiennes is truly one of the greatest i have seen.  It's amazing to me how much i have really learned throughout this unit.  It's cool to see one thing weeks ago then revisit it and really get to appreciate it for how good it is.  Fiennes is a great speaker and showed hardly any faults at all throughout his whole speech if any at all. 

wiki 4 - 20/20 - now for the big question... if your parents had just spent almost $200,000 to send you through Harvard, would you want to see a COMEDIAN speak at the graduation... AND would you have wanted him to be goofy the WHOLE time? Just someting to consider.

Wiki Public Speaking 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPl3X6whm3A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGipSHwJKiE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN9CmZBSm8E&feature=related

- For the wiki assignment this week I watched a speech given by the famous actor Will Ferrell.  Will was speaking at the graduation of the class of 2003 at Harvard.  This was the funniest speach that I have ever seen.  For sound everything was very wasily heard due to the fact of the use of microphones.  His eye contact was very hard to tell too because of the use of cameras but he never did keep his head down too long on his notes he had with him.  One thing that was amazing to see was how much control of the crowd Will had.  No matter what he was speaking about he had control of the crowd.  Will was a very eccentric speaker also.  From his dancing entrance, the secondary speech he gave while doing an impression of former president George W. Bush, and his singing of "Dust in the Wind" he had everyones attention.  Will used a lot of jokes and was almost joking the whole time while giving his speech, which is what he was aiming on doing, due to the fact of him being a grade a comedian.  While Will speaked he in a way demanded to have everyones' attention on him just due to how he presented himself and the speech.  He very seldolmly used unnecessary words.  He started out acting as if he was unprepared and did use grammatical errors just for that effect.  Watching this speech helped remind me even more of why I love Will Ferrell and it was the funniest speach I have ever seen.

wiki 3 - 10/23  - 0/20 - no posting

Wiki Public Speaking 3

-  On Thursday I attended a college visit at University of Missouri Columbia or betterly known as Mizzou.  While on the visit I got to hear 5 different individuals use public speaking.  The first gave an informative speach and was in a more formal setting.  He used a powerpoint presentation and let that guide what he talked about.  He had good volume for the size room we were in.  He used stories and jokes at different times to draw more attention from the audience and did a good job.  The second was a girl who was responsible for the campus tour.  This girl had the hardest job of all do to the weather circumstances she had to deal with.  It was very rainy outside and that created a volume problem but the girl talked loudly and overcame that problem and did a very good job.  After her we then went and got another informative speach about the School of Journalism.  This speach was also done using a powerpoint.  The speaker was good overall but she kept saying "like" and she would use it in places not necessary.  Her keeping on using that expression was very distracting from everything she was saying and was somewhat frustrating.  After her there was another girl giving a tour of the journalism school while speaking she did a very good job of making eye contact even though she was moving and walking around the campus.  She spoke at a good volume and I could always hear her.  The last speaker we heard from was another young woman giving us a tour of the T.V. station in Columbia.  She was not a very strong speaker but through her answering our questions we presented her with she proved a very knowledgeable person and was very helpful.

wiki 2 - 10/16  - 20/20 good post.

Wiki Public Speaking 2

-  This past week in class we have done several activities that I feel have truly helped build our skills in certain areas of public speaking.  The first activity was to select a random topic and speak about this topic for 30 seconds with out saying um, and, like, uh, you know, or okay.  This activity was a very fun one to participate in and to watch.  The speakers who were successful and went at least over twenty seconds used the method of just starting out while trying to come up with a main idea and once they used that idea they would run with.  This activity helped us to learn to think about what we  say before we say it and to help us from falling into the common usage of unnecessary words that are very common in today's speach.  It was a very helpful excercise and I think it really helped out alot of people.  Another activity we did in class this week was the staring game.  This game was designed to help us work on our eye contact.  I made it into the top six and I liked how it took a very important part of public speaking, eye contact, and took it to the extreme to help us see how easy eye contact can be.  Mrs. Staude said how the average glance is less then two seconds which is truly a shor amount of time compared to a minute staring at someone a foot away.

wiki 1 - 20/20 - good response! Glad you went back and had another look at Taylor. He's interesting and knows how to work a crowd.

Wiki Public Speaking 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCNIBV87wV4

-Today in class we watched the video from the url posted above.  This speach was delivered by Taylor Mali.  This speach struck me as very interesting and i found it very enjoyable.  The point of this speach was to show the downfall in today's public speach.  The speaker showed this emphasis by giving examples of the poor ways of speaking.  He showed the inproper voice method of upflecting and the use of unnecessary words such as like.  The speaker also showed how todays public, by speaking the way they do, show a lack of confidence that is easily seen by how they speak.  The speaker had very good eye contact for the type of setting he was in.  He had a very strong prescense and it could easily be seen that he was confident on the stage.  His appearance was nice and he did not look like a bum off the corner but yet an individual who was aware of the situation he would be in and dressed the part for the speach he was giving.  I really like the style of the speaker.  The speaker did a good job in using practical comedy to lighten up the audience and to help keep them focused on him as he continued through his speach.  The speach had a good length, not too long, not too short, and was very easy to follow.  I love how the speaker took something very prevalent in todays's society and helped show in a polite way the errors of it and dangers it can cause.

Tough

    “Those things’ll kill ya, you know.” said Slate.  Seemed Slate always had something to say about how I was actin’ or what I was doin’, well at least after the crash anyway.

    “Hell, if that crash didn’t then I’d  be damned if one smoke made me kick the bucket.” I replied with a tone of arrogance in my voice.  I could tell what I had said had upset Slate greatly but I mean what did he expect me to do, go along with his every wish and desire, no, that’s just not the type of guy I am.  The type of guy I am is the type that falls off his motorcycle goin’ over 210mph and comes out of it with only road rash and some bruised ribs, so go on and tell me I’m not invincible.  “We gotta’ get to work Slate,” I hollered.  “This bike has to be good to go by Saturday, otherwise we might not be eatin’ anything but bread the next couple a days.” 

    Slate came back out reluctantly.  As he edged closer I flicked away my cigarette and started checkin’ the diagnostics from the computer on the bike, “Jet,” Slate said.  He looked at me with a view of ultimate concern, and said, “Look here boy, I know your on your high horse now but wait till after the race to think you the best thing to walk on the track.”  This had caught me off guard but I just overlooked it and got back to work on the diagnostics.  “This ain’t track racin’ boy, and you know now anything goes,” Slate added in.

    After many long nights the bike was done.  I had never seen my girl lookin’ so much nicer then she did right now.  Paint shinin’, wheels gleamin’, and chrome polished.  To me this was as good as it got.  We loaded up and headed to the track on that Saturday morning.  As we arrived it was as if everyone was lookin’ at me like I’d come from the dead.  I mean it had just been two weeks since the accident but I was in good shape and ready to win.

    As I was makin’ my laps around the pits I felt somethin’ come up behind me and before I knew what was goin on I was in a headlock, and I knew exactly who it was, TJ.  TJ was my cousin and me and him had done everything together since as long as I can remember.  TJ was always my greatest friend and we were allies on the track.  “Bout time you get back out here, ya wuss,” greeted TJ.

    “Just glad to be back,” I responded

    “Lets get the bikes out man, we’ll get lined up now,” said TJ.

    We headed back to the pits and got the bikes on the line.  After that we went back to the trailer, talked about last week’s race, and sipped on some drinks.  As we got back to our bikes we got ready and mounted them.  As I started my bike, a flash of the crash appeared in my head.  I quickly shook off these nerves and felt the new clutch on my baby.  Not to tight, not to loose, my baby was ready to go.  TJ was 3 bikes back from me but I knew that would change as soon as the flag was dropped. 

    The only thoughts goin’ in my head now were that I was invincible and I was going to win.  Right before the flag dropped TJ looked over and gave me a good luck grin.  As I looked up the flag was dropped and you could hear the back tires burning off of 25 different bikes.  As I maneuvered the track I felt perfect.  I was owning this track and no one was even near me.  Then it happened. As I approached the sharpest turn of the course, the corner that had thrown me off my bike, I looked back and saw TJ.  He was neck in neck with another racer.  As they were going the other racer threw out his leg and TJ went flying off his bike.  Once I understood what had happened I whipped my bike around and went over to TJ.  TJ was lying there barely conscious and says to me, “Well Jet, guess we weren’t so tough after all.”  That thought had never entered my mind.

Wiki Week One

A.  I found today's class period one of the most helpful and informational classes we have had yet this year.  It was good to hear about all of the information about college.  Even though we had heard about most of the information given to us in class today it had not really sunk in or made as much of an impression until today's class period.  The thing I learned about most in class today were the letters of recommendation.  I had always wondered about how teachers felt comfortable about writing a letter that could possibly effect a students future without knowing that much about them.  The whole discussion today just really got my mind thinking about getting ready for college and getting started with all of my applications and getting together a resume.

B.  In my opinion today's story, John Updike's "A&P", is the best story we have read so far.  I really like Updike's style and the "real" way he communicates information to the reader.  Another reason I like this story is that I definitely can relate to the situation Sammy is in.  I have worked at Target for over a year now and I just had to laugh when I read the first paragraph because I have thought the same things Sammy does almost word for word many a time in Target.  Updike really captures the feel of being a teenage guy and dealing with the attraction and thoughts that go on in our minds.  It was just really a cool experience to have felt the exact same experience communicated in a piece of literature in real life.  Now i didn't end up quitting or getting in an argument with my manager and the last part of the story didn't really apply but I'd be lying if I said I'd never accidentally rang the same item up twice to do an attractive girl catching my eye.

Good work on wk. 1 - I enjoyed reading how Updike connected with your experience! Nice to know something written in 1961 is still basically true today. Keep up the great job!

Wiki Week Two

Good work on wiki 2!  I am looking forward to your sequel!

A.  For our first theme essay I have decided to do number four, which is the two plus page sequel to one of the stories.  I am going to write a continuation of John Updikes "A&P."  I chose to do this because I feel I really relate well to Sammy and can understand the thoughts that he really has going on in his head during this trying moment in his life.  I also chose this to add upon because I really like Updike's style that he writes with and I hope I can emulate that style and make my continuation as easy to read as the original.  I have a few ideas that I'm narrowing down for were to lead the continuation but the one thing I'm sure of is that I want to get Queenie back into the story and get her involved in a deeper way.

B.  I've decided that out of the two options for our big project that I am going to write a short story.  I was juggling around a few different ideas about were I should go with the story but I've got a pretty definite idea now and am just trying to figure out plot points.  My main character is going to be a teenage guy, and I want the story to be a good insight in to the life that average teens live and the ideas and thoughts that go on in their heads.  I'm still trying to figure out the setting but I'm leaning towards a small town (figures).  I'm wanting to include normal every day things that teens experience but present it in an intriguing way to the reader.  I think the biggest challenge I'm going to face is writing the story in an inriguing way but I'm really excited about writing it.  I have a lot more thoughts about the story too but I dont want to let them all out now. 

 Wiki Week Three

A.  OK, first off all I have to say is that everytime I read The Fall of the House of Usher I almost fall asleep.  Just something about that story keeps me from getting into it and I really do not like it.  With that being said Brabury's Usher II was a completely different story.  This was the first story I have read that was really of this style.  I really liked as I read along knowing what was going to happen to the characters seeing as I had already been familiar with the Poe stories he uses in this selection.  Bradbury is a very creative writer and I really like how if you know the work of the other author it's almost like he gives you an extra treat for being familiar with the work.

B.  If anybody ever asked me for a short story that was original and pretty creepy after today I would recommend to them Bradbury's There Will Come Soft Rains.  This was another story I found this week to be completely original to anything I have yet experienced (Bradbury seems to have this effect on me).  From the beginning of the story there is an awkward sense to it.  The only way I can describe it is how in the zombie type movies "28 Days Later" and "28 Weeks Later" were they show shots of cities just abandoned and no sign of life.  The story reveals itself in a very unique way and was somewhat startling.  It really is a surprise to find out that instead of the family just being gone they were really dead along with a vast number of others due to a nuclear bomb.  The main thought that is provoked in my mind from the story though is the idea the poem in it brings up.  As I think about nature and this situation it reminds me of Crane's The Red Badge of Courage in the sense that at one point in the story the main character Henry Fleming looks around and realizes nature doesn't even care about the things humans do to one another around it.  This idea is a humbling one in the sense that us humans really have no control other then what goes on in our lives yet even that isn't fully up to us but to our Lord and Savior. All in all There Will Come Soft Rains was a very thought provoking story and I enjoyed it very much.

Great job on wiki 3! Wow! Lots of thoughts spinning around this week... loved your posts. I tend to agree about Poe's Usher... but it's a bit awkward to try to teach Bradbury's without Poe's - if you catch my drift.

Wiki Week Four

A.  Borden Deal's Antaeus, in my opininon, was a very good story.  In it Deal does a good job of emphasizing those longing wants that T.J. has in the story, such as owning his own land, caring for a crop, and wanting to work.  I think though that Deal leaves out of the story an important factor that could strongly influence the feel that T.J. deals with on a daily basis.  From personal experience and conversation with people who live out in the country or farm for a living and things like that one thing that they like is the feeling of a type of isolation, in other words they like not being crowded and having their own space to live in and do what they please.  This factor has a big impact on T.J. because I believe coming from the background he came from the lack of having this feeling would drive him crazy.  This is also another reason why T.J. liked the roof because it was the boys, to them at least, and also T.J. just felt seperated from the everyday world when he was up there.

B.  All of the stories we have read this week, in my view, show very easy to see connections within all of them.  In all of them there is a character that does not belong and should not be involved in the situation that they are in.  Also all of the characters involved in the situation they are in all bring something different to the table.  I think the most noble response out of the stories we have read so far was seen out of Patsy Barnes from Paul Laurence Dunbar's The Finish of Patsy Barnes.  The way Patsy realizes he needs to be a man and does what he has to do is awesome.  It is also cool that he gets to take control and ride the horse that caused him a lot of affliction in his life and that he overcomes it in the end.

p.s. meant week four on top not week three i just fixed it.