Rhetoric in Advertising

Find an advertisement (commercial, billboard, magazine ad, etc.) and do the following:

• Explain the purpose and audience of the advertisement
• Analyze the rhetorical devices used (types of appeal and logical fallacies)

School Calendar

The Knox County Superintendent, Dr. McIntyre, held a forum last night about the school calendar. Please go here to view the three optional calendars in detail. Here is a brief description from the article in the News-Sentinel today:

"The first calendar, which begins school Aug. 10, gives students a weeklong fall break. The second and third calendars are almost the same except one has a two-day fall break and the other has none. Both have Aug. 20 as the first day of school for students. All three calendars have May 21 as the last day of school for students."

What are your thoughts? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Favorite Movie

One of my favorite movies is I Am Sam starring Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer, a ruthless lawyer, is working for Penn, a mentally handicapped father trying to retain custody of his daughter. I love everything about this movie: the vibrant colors, the camera angles, the Beatles covers, not to mention the storyline that makes me laugh as much as cry. The characters are believable (important for a realist like myself), and the themes of community and family transcend traditional social, academic, and familial boundaries.

What is your favorite movie and why?

Photography Exhibit

Give one specific idea that we can implement at "Capture the Evening" in October. Be creative. We want to "wow" your parents!

Strength

Which character in The Grapes of Wrath exhibits the most strength?  Explain.

Knoxville's Best Sweet Tea

I so enjoyed today's tea tasting! Those of you who brought tea, thank you. Please thank your parents as well.  I am still trying to recover from all of that sugar!  In case you didn't get it all written down today, here are the stats.  

1st Period: 

• ***** McDonalds with 94 votes
• **** Chick-fil-A with 91 votes
• *** Bojangles with 60 votes
• ** Chintzy Rose with 50 votes
• * McAlisters with 34 votes

3rd Period:

• ***** Bojangles with 97 votes
• **** Chick-fil-A with 91 votes
• *** McDonalds with 77 votes
• ** Chintzy Rose with 58 votes
• * McAlisters with 53 votes

I can't wait to see the first place reviews from each class.  Remember to find your voice and to keep a consistent tone.  Words like delicious, amazing, and wonderful should NOT appear in your reviews.  Choose specific, meaningful words.  Happy writing!  I will leave you with some pictures from today!

Proustian Memory

Marcel Proust, a French novelist, wrote about how the smell of a madeleine cake dipped into a lime-blossom tea, unleashed a rush of brilliantly-clear memory: "and as soon as I had recognised the taste of madeleine soaked in her decoction of lime-blossom which my aunt used to give me ... immediately the old grey house upon the street, where her room was, rose up like a stage set ... and with the house the town, from morning to night and in all weathers, the Square where I used to be sent before lunch, the streets along which I used to run errands, the country roads we took when it was fine."

For me, a pot of green beans simmering on the stove immediately transports me to my Mamaw Shirley's house. Her fresh green beans, flavored with bacon and onion salt, are cooked for hours. I have never tasted better. Just the sight of green beans reminds me of the many family gatherings held in her home. Though there are many rooms to choose from, living room, dining room, sitting room, somehow everyone always ends up standing around the kitchen hovering over her as she works. The green beans act as magnets pulling us all together.

What smell or taste brings back a memory for you?