Worst Dream I've Had in a Long Time

Alligator dreams have been a normal part of my life, but this one was by far the worst.  Anyways, straight to the point before I forget.  The dream can be separated into three equally bizarre parts.  First I found myself on a boat with my friend Eric.  We're kind of just slowly cruising up a coast, in fresh water.  The scenery on the coast is pretty creepy.  At one point, we pass a dead man lying face first.  Eventually the boat turns to car, and the car is just driving on what I assume to be shallow water.  We stop in a strange restaurant/pavilion and had some food.  I remember there being a huge, dead snake, and  the overall atmosphere was bleak and foreboding.  We then planned to take the car back into the water, and drive further west.  I decided to tell Eric that I didn't want to do it.  I reasoned that it was dark, and if the car broke down we would be stuck out there surrounded by alligators.  I don't remember his exact reaction, but I think he was bitter, and we separated.  I then went by car (alone I believe) and ended up in a small town called Venus, Florida.  The second part of the dream begins here.

Things were pretty unsettling in Venus, Fl.  I ended up in a Walmart type department store, and remember feeling somewhat interested and excited at first to observe the weird small-town life.  I found a note in a little shopping basket on the floor.  The note was from either Eric, or a third friend that had been joining us, but I don't remember him, or much of what the note said.  It did have a phone number, and was surrounded by VHS tapes, one titled "Deep Ones", which was the name of the fish like monsters in a Lovecraft story called "the Shadow Over Innsmouth".  I went outside and tried to call the numbers, but just got answering machines.  One answering machine was very personal and bitter, like it had been made just to spite me for abandoning the lake trip...I don't know.  So I went back into the store and things got extra fucking weird.  A lady walked by who seemed normal, except her face had blue, elastic skin.  I started walking, and noticed that the store was very crowded.  People were looking at old TV sets, and all of a sudden the entire dream looked as if I was staring into a news report from the late '80s or something.  Everything seemed blurry, cheap, and really lo-fi.  I walked past a man who's face was completely covered in hair, like wolf man, but dressed normally.

I don't remember the transition (maybe there wasn't one), but the third part was by far the worst.  I was in some really grotesque swamp land, but surrounded people.  The place was some kind of national park/attraction, but hideous, and their were these albino alligators everywhere.  People were just walking over these things, and they would occasionally hiss or snap.  They weren't typical albino alligators though.  They actually had this mangy, white fur, and were really scrawny.  The place was swarming with them.  At one point I saw a guy try to pet one, and when I randomly had a piece of raw meat in my hand, I threw it on the ground, watching one of those hideous abominations almost bite a woman's ankle.  The place was horrid, mud everywhere, lots of gray and white rocks just protruding from the muck.  There seemed to be some kind of thrill with the danger of the place, and at one point I found myself straying away with some strangers (a family I believe), on a narrow, muddy path.  I remember them saying things like "oh this part is really scary", and we walked for a second in the mud, knowingly surrounded by those nasty alligators.  At the far end of the path some animals were running towards us, they looked like white tigers or wolves, it was too far away to tell, but they were quickly gaining momentum, and it was pretty fucking terrifying.  I decided to turn around and run back, and I could hear this family finally becoming afraid.  They just kept yelling, realizing that they were being chased and having to get away, but they had children (which aside from making the ordeal more horrific, were slowing the parents down).  I ran and ran, and then woke up in my bed with a racing heart beat.  This was a pretty goddamn awful dream.  Fuck.

Notes: Venus, Florida probably came from an article I had read earlier that day about Venus lining up with the sun.  I've also been reading a ton of Lovecraft lately, so that explains the reference, and may have quite possibly added to the landscape.  I also had a little bit of scotch, white wine, and red wine before bed.

Narrative Perspective: Critcial Mass

Critical Mass takes place on the last Friday of every month, and is active in most major cities. During a ride last month in Miami, a few riders were injured when a car briefly broke through into the crowd. Luckily nobody was killed, but the incident has awakened some new controversies about the concept of Critical Mass. Mass exists as a way to promote the use of other forms of transportation. More importantly, it is an effort to gain more respect and consideration for people who ride bicycles, whether it be for recreation or commutes for professional reasons. At the least, there are usually a couple hundred riders on the street during one mass event. They usually meet at the government center downtown, and ride on a preplanned route for around 15-20 miles. It goes without saying that critical mass holds up traffic, and drivers in cars often become aggressive, sometimes beeping furiously, and in the case of last month, attempting to cut through the bicycle traffic. Many argue that mass is especially dangerous in the case of medical emergencies. Imagine if you were rushing a very ill child to the emergency room, only to be met with a sea of bicycles. You would have no choice but to either wait, or risk hurting or even killing a bicyclist. The injuries sparked new criticism about the actual bicyclists themselves, and much of this criticism even came from other participators. Riders frequently weave in and out of lanes, cutting off other riders at dangerously close proximity. Many question how bicyclists are suppose to earn the respect and equal treatment they desire, when they do not follow traffic laws. They have also been known to become extremely aggressive to cars, becoming loud and threatening should anyone get too close. Critical Mass is still a very active movement. But it'd be interesting to see just how much has changed since it started. Are more people using bicycles in cities that are typically not "bike friendly"? Is the city starting to be more considerate of bicyclists, and/or are they becoming more understanding of the city's faulty public transit system. Are they recognizing a need for more bike lines? Only time will tell. But the mass rides continue every month, and
show no signs of slowing down.

Rick Santorum Response

The proposed fictional scenario is that one of republican candidate Rick Santorum's seven children has recently been involved in a homosexual relationship. The relationship became public, and his son Joshua (let's just say hypothetically is now age 18) has has appeared to be unapologetic. This has occurred at the peak of Santorum's campaign, and he had been doing fairly well in the race thus far. This is my take on his response to the public:

The media allegations regarding our beloved son Joshua Santorum, are completely false.  Last November as you know, our family suffered a very difficult loss when Joshua's mother suffered her miscarriage.  Joshua has since developed a very crippling depressive disorder, and has been receiving extensive treatment for this unfortunate trauma. Our recent loss has been very difficult for the entire family, and we ask you to join us in prayer for Joshua during his extreme time of need.

It's hard to pinpoint just what Mr. Santorum's rhetorical response would be.  I believe that it would probably be in his best interest to completely deny the allegations of homosexuality.  Due to his extreme hard right ideals and significant criticism of the homosexual community, it would make sense that he should would not even use the word homosexual in his response.  This complete dismissal would ideally give the impression that the accusation is simply too ridiculous and unrealistic to even acknowledge.  Instead, Santorum simply reinforces his role as a dedicated father, inciting sympathy by mentioning his wife's miscarriage, and displaying his loyalty towards his family.  The request for prayer is a final reminder of his Christian/Catholic values.

Realistically, the miscarriage happened long ago, and I do not know the ages of Santorum's children.  But while this response is obviously fictional, it offers a glimpse of the kind of strategy he would possibly employ.    

The clay tablet exercise was interesting and quite therapeutic. I sculpted a silly interpretation of Moses, as the word tablet initially made me think of the tablets engraved with the ten commandments. When it came time take a shot at carving text into our own tablets, I think I speak for the whole class when I say that it was very challenging. So I immediately thought about how grueling it must have been for the ancient rhetoricians, and how precise they had to be in order to avoid mistakes. In the end, it made me think about rhetoric as a term we discussed called "rhetricky". I don't recall if it was Plato or Socrates who voiced out against rhetoric, but whoever it was would probably have predicted it to be dangerous in the future. If rhetoric did commonly function as trickery at a time when simply writing a message involved such hard work and precision, then it is surely lethal in today's society since we have developed a plethora of means for communicating. Regardless of good or bad intention, rhetoric is accessible, user friendly, and available to all.

Final Paper: Planning

After receiving a number of possible topics for the final paper, I found myself very interested in music analysis. As a musician myself, I am forced to over-analyze musical concepts left and right. This not only applies to the music itself, but also to the massive amount of important details the average person may tend to overlook. I'm fascinated by everything from song structures and arrangements, to artwork and imagery. I think that a music analysis would be a very accessible topic for the paper because it offers plenty of room for applying a lot of the rhetorical concepts we've learned so far, pathos, kairos, and delivery to name a few. Ultimately, I'd like to base my paper on one entire genre. There really is so much to say, and while I've enjoyed my time at school, I've rarely been given a chance to write about something I have passion for. Choosing a topic with such enthusiasm would undoubtedly allow me to create a stronger paper.

First Attempt at Defining Rhetoric

According to my computer's dictionary, rhetoric is "the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing". While this may be true, it is almost an easy way out. In order to truly define rhetoric, we must first understand what it means to be rhetorical. We make rhetorical moves every day, often without notice. Rhetorical actions may seem minuscule, even involuntary. Facial gestures for example: rolling your eyes during an argument, or attempting to appear straight faced while making a joke. In this case, the rhetorical act is done without saying a word, but no matter how big or small the act, there is always a desired reaction.