Patrick Doyle's Weblog

From the start of the move Shattered Glass I thought that Stephen seemed a little strange, he was very jumpy and off the edge. I think his coworkers were jealous of him, because of his accomplishments that he has made in his life at such a young age. Although none of the employees literally expressed it, I came to the interpretation that was some of the coworkers felt. As he is telling his coworkers the Hacker story, I thought that he enjoyed having all attention directed towards him. In the first five minutes he seems like an average type of person, however he also seems a little arrogant but hanging out with him would be alright. Stephen has the deicision whether to write a completely false piece of writing. He also has the decision whether to keep lying over his false article. This is an ethical situation that he must choose a decision and he makes a wrong decision and keeps supporting it with lies. I think he was wrong with what he was doing. His editor Chuck faces serious ethical troubles on deciding what to do with Glass. Stephen believes that an editor should always back his writers no matter the situation. Now I can agree with this but, there is a fine line where I disagree with this. And this line is when the editor would loose his job to back his writer. I think Stephen was way out of line in his actions.

Euthanasia, is it murder or is it a painless death? Many people say its murder. However, I think it depends on the situation. There are many critics that think this procedure is completely against the law and suicide. And other people think the opposite, they think if the people are desiring to end their life they should be able to. Then the third side of this argument people see their family members in so much pain that they would rather not see them go through with it and pass away with less pain. This could be very hard decision that a person must go through to make this decision; if the family members have to make this decision then it must be even harder. What about the doctors allowing this procedure to happen how would it affect there life? This is a very controversial topic that has me wonder what is right and what should happen. Before the time of modern medicine, humans would have to try to get through an illness, disease or virus in hopes of staying alive. Most of the time people died well before they were old enough to get cancer, or any other life threatening ailment. Nowadays, people are living so much longer that we are have a higher chance of getting a illness that can stop life. To conclude, today’s society doesn’t promote a healthy life-style because of television, internet and video games. These aspects of society keep our youth inside opposed to exercising outside.

If your boyfriend or girlfriend who is your closest friend that you have ever had, is in need of your help would you do it? Lets say that the aid they are asking for puts you on the line, shall you do it? If you and a friend have been practically through everything that can happen and still be together… Would you feel that you can trust them with your life… Well the vagueness of this situation is hard for someone to say, “Yes” I would or “Sorry, I can’t” in what I have just described. So lets focus on a situation… If one person in the relationship asks for the other person to help them in getting some financial aid, and resulting with you responsible would you do it? Love is a complicated and wonderful thing… If the couple considered getting married I would support the circumstances. I wonder how the person who is giving the help would feel if the other person is not giving their all in the relationship. Would they panic and feel like the person just snatched and ran…? These thoughts I would believe come through the person’s mind, however they can’t let them affect the relationship. Lets say that the one who is getting the help, really does love the other person and just has a few life crisis going on at that moment. Should the other person not think these thoughts at all? Or should they be compassionate and endure the struggle… This is a tough situation for people to go through and I think that there are many situations that trouble relationships in this fast paced and hectic world that we live in…

The Heat have traded Shaquille O’Neal for two players from the Phoenix Suns. At first I couldn’t believe that the Heat would trade him. This is because they won a Championship with him, and Dwayne Wade and Shaq had a little duo going like Shaq had with Kobe. Since Heat’s championship their competitiveness had dramatically decreased. In fact, in the Heat’s last 20 games they have lost 19 of them. Pat Riley, Heat’s coach says that their were no hard feelings with Shaq moving on… Riley has been a coach for 25 five years so their has been plenty of trading before his eyes. Riley say that the Heat are “rebuilding” maybe this is a reason that they also let him go a little less hesitant. Shaq probably is being paid a load of money because of his age and record that they have to pay him for. So if the Heat clear that big payment there leaves a lot of room for free agency and whatnot. Most if not all the players of the Suns are ready to get him on board and ready to play… This move that Shaq has taken renews my view of him because I thought he was going to retire soon and with the Heat. Instead he has been traded and wants to get another ring!

Who would of guessed the Patriots would of lost? Their perfect season means nothing now that they lost the Super Bowl. If anyone who did not watch this game the Giants and the Patriots played in the Super Bowl. For the first three quarters it remained 7-3 with Patriots up. However, Giants seemed to have control of the game defensively with not allowing the Patriots to convert on 3rd down. The Patriots seemed like they were a different team. Constant pressure on Brady did not allow him enough time to make plays that would gain significant yardage. It almost seemed like the Giants pushed the Patriots on their heels and never relieved the pressure. It was obvious that Brady was frustrated with the situation, as well as Randy Moss who had approximately had 5 catches the whole game. Moss who is the “go to guy” when the game is on the line didn’t seem to touch the ball. It was in the beginning of the 4th quarter the Giants finally took the lead. A Patriot touch down pass to Moss was answered by another touch down by the Giants. The Giants seemed to execute very well opposed to the Patriots offense. This however was a close game, and a very well played game.

This years Super Bowl will be an exciting game, however, the predicted winner of this game is highly favored. The New England Patriots are the Yankees’ of football. I despise the Patriots, unfortunately they are likely to win because of their offensive weapons and veteran defense. The Patriots are undefeated, which gives a sense of urgency for the New York Giants. Tom Brady is the QB for the Patriots, he is a remarkable and talented player. However, I also think that his offensive line gives him the time needed for him to make things happen. From the QB, offensive line, wide receivers, to the defensive team and even the special teams the Patriots seem to have it all… The Giants aren’t a bad team, they just don’t seem like they got the armory and the weapons to hold the Patriots and then defeat them. And the Patriots record proves it. I hate to say it but I think the Patriots are going to win. I give my support to the underdogs because I would rather see an upset rather than just a predicted victory. So the Giants must dig down deep and come and play this Sunday for the Super Bowl.

My group in class was given the topic “Yes, always, because…” and we had to respond to the topic of giving a homeless person a dollar. In my opinion, you have to look at the situation, and decide whether or not this person is really homeless. The thing is, you can’t ask the person, you just have to read them and make a decision. Then you have to decide whether your wallet can spare a few. In my case I probably couldn’t, because normally as a college student I am broke. But when I do have some spare money and the homeless person is actually homeless I would probably give them a dollar. One thing that is scary nowadays is that you can’t really trust that many people. One late night I was driving with my girlfriend from the movies and we stopped at a traffic light. Suddenly I hear a knock at my window… Savy (girlfriend) screams I look over and I happen to shout AHH!!!! There was a homeless or crack-head begging for money. Immediately I screamed at him saying “GET THE HECK AWAY, YOU CRAZY #$#@%^! I shouted you scared us..” The man said “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you” in a pathetic way. I peeled out and drove off… This is a reason why I am a little hesitant to role down my window to a homeless person.

I this video off of USA Today magazine. Obviously its not on the magazine but it was on their website. This was an advertisement that supported Huckabee by claiming that another candidate would be better for the position. Huckabee has Chuck Norris’s support in his run in the primaries. This clip starts in the middle of the a discussion so the question that was asked is unknown. However, it seems that he is asked why he doesn’t support McCain. The clip begins with Norris saying he is a dear friend of his, and then says that he is 72. He sort of claims that at the expense of holding office, people tend to age quicker. This seems logical (logos), because of the stress environment. He supports his reasoning pretty well, which gained my trust in authority (ethos). He provides support by claiming that the candidate should be someone who has the “youth, energy, vision and the communication skills.” There wasn’t an appeal to pathos that I could find.

What is very embarassing is being a fan of the worst team in the NFL. I practically bleed the Dolphins colors. I was brought up as a kid watching the Dolphins play on the television with popcorn and snacks. So it’s kind of hard to just switch teams. Currently, the Dolphins and the NFL’s worst record was made history with one win and the rest, well you know what they were! Also in the past five years the Dolphins have had 5 different coaches. How can a team come together if the same people aren’t there the following year to pick up where they left off last! With that in mind it seems that we could see this disaster approaching. So Wayne Hiezenga the owner of the Dolphins hired Bill Parcels to be the V.P. of the club. Parcels has a very good reputation in revitalizing poor teams. Parcels fires Cam Cameron the head coach of the Dolphins as soon he took his position of V.P. This gave the record of 5 coaches in 5 years. However, it was logical what Parcels did, because he hired a coach that he worked with while he was the head coach of the Cowboys. This comraudary hopefully will benefit the Dolphins in a good way.

1.)
Authority/ethos- this is an appeal writers and advertisers use to appeal to the audiences trust and authority. Thus, a person believes in your claims because how you present them and yourself (character).
Emotion/pathos- this appeals to the audiences feelings, beliefs and or desires. By grabbing the audiences emotions and wants they are more likely to stay interested in what is being presented.
Logic/logos- the last appeal is directed to the audiences logical reasoning. With whatever is being present the writer/advertiser will try to manipulate the appeal in favor of the logical reasoning.
2.) When writing a research paper use appropriate sources, site them correctly and find sources that aren’t false and have a good reputation. Using these strategies you can present your topic appropriately, provide a truthful and strong backbone. If you don’t have a strong backbone in your writing criticism will override your argument.
3.) Using the emotional appeal when formulating an argument gives you an advantage. This is because when someone is moved their emotions have been touched and a bond is made between the audience and the presenter. For example, take the example from the book about the parent anti-drug add. Look at the parents perspective; they have a son or daughter that is involved with drugs. Now typically parents are always concerned for their kids safety and wellness. These are emotions that a normal parent try to satisfy 24/7, so when they see this commercial I would think that it would stimulate those emotions of their children’s safety.
4.) I don’t see any potential disadvantages with using a heavy appeal to emotion, if heavy appeal to emotion is being used you should take in to consideration the audience and how appropriate it would be.
5.) In any situation in life if it can be backed by facts, statistic and logical reasoning it has the potential to withstand criticism. Without logic backing a topic it will tend to crumble in the hands of the opposition. It is vital to have a strong logical backing to have a good argument. If an argument doesn’t have it there is nothing that is strong enough to keep the argument going.
6.) In an argument the three appeals go hand and hand. A good argument should have all three appeals in it. These three together do not give room for frankness. They give support the argument and provide reasoning for the argument.

Part II
?????