Latest Author's Note

This is my final draft and I am very happy that I can say that. After visiting the Writing Center and having it checked for mechanical errors and typos, I feel good about the paper I am about to email to you. My satisfaction stems from the fact that I really can't think of anything else to add to the paper, and also that a professional checked my paper, so I feel pretty good. I am a bit worried about the requirement for using the senses to describe. I described my location (Central Market) to the best of my ability, but applying the sensory factor here I don't think works very well here.

I also wanted to remind you that my annotated notes are not on my blog because for some reason the computer in the classroom would not receive anything from my flash drive so Marian and Mason read my notes on the computer and I commented on Mason and Marian's notes (Marian had a hard copy). I will also attach the peer revisions of my paper to you, but either Mark Brown or Matt Palombo did not save his commented version like you had wanted, but I wanted to let you know so that he gets credit and you know who reviewed my paper.

I believe this is everything so... Enjoy!

Kanika Nevers

Workshop Feedback on draft 1

To be honest, I did not believe that my first draft would result in pretty positive comments. As I have said in my first blog, I am not generally confident in my work as a writer, but the feedback has boosted my confidence, for a short while, with this assignment. I was initially worried that my thesis would not be clear, but this did not happen. On the other hand, the flow of my description and my ability to convey the actual flow of Central Market needs work, which I knew. My group members did not make mention of this, but I KNOW I need help with punctuation.
I plan to arrange the layout of Central Market in way that can be easily understood by readers who have never visited CM and allow those who have shopped there to remember certain parts of the store and take notice of things they had not seen before. I was also given the suggestion of elaborating on the history of CM so I will do that as well, along with adding more of my observations that I omitted. I had a great serendipitous experience with these 2 women I met and I want to find a way to incorporate that.

Central Market's Meaning to Fort Worth

I think Central Market adds a unique flavor to Fort Worth, first by its architectural structure with the large, chocolate, barn doors that frame the entrances. On my last visit, I noticed that they sold homemade TCU Horned Frog purple soap. Although Texas is most known for "Everything is bigger and better in Texas" attitude, and Fort Worth as "Cow Town", environmentalism, eco-friendliness, eating healthy and 'normal' sized portions, I believe Central Market provides people who care for these issues with a place to find them. CM's original intention was not this when it began in Austin in '92, but rather to give food lovers a limitless choice of quality grocery items and make grocery shopping a joy rather than a chore.

Arguments in Fact and Definition in My Public Space

My space of interest in Central Market and the price argument can go a long way in this situation, but one that I found is an overarching theme in Central Market is the products sold there. From the flowers they sell, to the soap you can buy everything there is in some way related to health consciousness or a more "upity" type of product that you definitely wouldn't find in Wal-Mart. They are arguing that these products are worth so much that H-E-B can make a store completely focused on health food and consciousness and expect people to come, buy, and embrace this type of lifestyle. It's a great argument they make and God knows many people including myself fall for it.

Choice for Public Space Analysis

My choice for our essay is to study Central Market. I think my decision comes from the fact that I was just there Sunday evening buying groceries for a program I had Monday morning so it was the first thing that popped into my head during class. Besides that I really enjoy the atmosphere there, I just think it is a really cool place to shop for food, especially healthy food that you will definitely not find at Wal-Mart, which is where I am used to shopping . My hope is to go there Thursday night around 8:30 (after The Office and because my night class is canceled) and again on Sunday afternoon. I already expect to see very different crowds on Thursday and Sunday. I think I will find a more adult/ family crowd on Sunday, while on Thursday I will still find adults, but younger, probably coming from work to pick up a few items for dinner or a date.

I know when I do go, I can't bring any money and I need to eat before because I will be really tempted to buy something :)

Favorite Locales

A new favorite spot of mine this semester is Red Cactus. Ever since the advent of Frog Bucks (which have unfortunately and untimely run out of ) has brought to this AWESOME Mexican restaurant. I ADORE the Spanish language, culture, and especially the food and since I discovered what Red Cactus was last semester I have spent quite a bit of time there. The manager, who's name I do not know yet is extremely friendly and he always smiles at me. Each cook is extremely amiable and every time I eat there I try desperately to listen in on their conversations in order to practice my Spanish. One day, I am hoping to gain enough courage to order in Spanish. What attracts to Red Cactus besides the great food is the atmosphere. The music is always different, sometimes Latin, other times techno (which is always pleasant) or 80's and 90's pop songs. It's never too busy when I go there to eat which makes it a fun place to study and people watch.

Internet Addiction . . . reality or no

Originally, I found another editorial piece by David Hall in the Skiff and I was planning on using that because of his great use of humor and sarcasm to convince his audience that Hulk Hogan should be the next president, but unfortunately I lost that article so I must resort to a different, but not lesser (I don't want to offend the writer although she will most likely NEVER see this blog) choice from TCU's paper.

So my article "Internet addiction a real problem" by Katie B. Martinez in Thursday's paper argues, specifically using logos, that internet addiction is real and the least recognized. So in layman's terms she makes a claim (what I just stated above) and supports it by using facts from a study done by practicing psychiatrist and researcher from Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Dr. Jerald Block. Her logic based argument is also evident when she documented that China, in late 2008 had declared internet addiction a disorder.

Martinez seemed to know her audience since she referenced World of Warcraft (an extremely popular online video game) as an example of keeping individuals from important and normal tasks like going to work. The last major element present in the article was her use of testimonies. She did not actually interview anyone firsthand, but quoted a global message board that spoke of personal experiences with family members with the addiction and others who believed that China's declaration was "another brainwashing tool of the communists".

Overall, her editorial was a textbook case of a fact based argument.

Capitulo 1

What is most surprising and I think many will agree is the idea that everything is an argument. One would not initially think that telling a friend about your day is arguing any kind of point, but rather just informing your friend, but what I find interesting is that the authors say that you are arguing for your audience's attention. On page 4, it says that all visual and verbal messages contain arguments, but my natural tendency is to view these signs as declarations that the wearer or speaker is saying about themselves or issue they care about.

2. What in the book do I not agree with?
For the most part, I did not really disagree with anything, but I do have a hard time believing that everything is an argument. I believe some parts of our speech simply inform while other parts do intend to argue a point. I think there is mixture of the two, but nothing concrete.