Reflect on Reflecction

In this reflection, you are to going to be reflecting on reflection (very meta ;-) and your composing process. Some things to think through:

*What are Yancey and Belanoff's theories of reflection? Which do you feel you respond more to or is it a combination of the two? Why do you think we read theory on reflection?

*What is "so" important about reflection? Why might we do it after each main assignment (and in between assignments)? Where does reflection fit into your composing process?

*If you had to develop a theory of reflection what would it look like?

Make sure, per normal, you support your thinking with evidence from the texts--you can use your own writing as support as well. Dialogue with one another. And you should hit about 500 words.

This is due on Tuesday, November 9, 2010.

Reflection over Editing Projects

In about 500 words, think through the following:

*the process for the editing project
*think through the process(es) for each project--poster, newsletter, remediation, editing--and examine them side by side
*what connections do you see between these process(es)


Remember reflections should be thought-out and specific--use details, refer back to past assignments and/or readings, etc.

This is due by Tuesday, November 9, 2010.

Rhetoric of Cool

Respond to Jeff Rice's "rhetoric of cool" by analyzing what it is and how it functions. Then I want you to finish this sentence: "rhetoric of XXX". Basically I want you to come up with your "rhetoric of XXX" by using Rice's rhetoric of cool as the framework for your "rhetoric of XXX". This means I want specific and direct connections made back to Rice's introduction.

Guidelines are same as always.


This is due by Thursday, November 4, 2010.

"Simply Meet the Press"

In your reading for homework, there is a slightly intense dialogue about "old media" and "new media." Using the readings we have done on technology and literacy (this means you need to go back a couple weeks for some of them), I want you to "meet the press" and create a case for old media, new media, or both. Your response should take whatever form you feel allows you to step up and meet the press. It should NOT simply be a response--you can take a side to speak from (the press or the public) and create a voice based on that side.

What I'm looking for is for you to create an INFORMED case speaking from the voice of either the press or the public. This means evidence, evidence, evidence, and I want you using the readings from class. Per normal you should be responding to your peers as well.

**If you don't know what "meet the press" means...you didn't critically read the Beltway blog. =)

On-line Class Day: Take 2!

Blogging Revolution.

Your on-line class day consists of two parts, and you'll simply be commenting back to this post. As always, you responses should be grounded in what your read and connect back the dialogue of our blog.

Part (1)--What is a blog?
Find a blog to quickly read through. After reading through and searching about one particular blog and several of its iterations, respond to the following questions--

*What blog did you look at and why did you choose that particular blog? What did you find out while reading through it? *How is blogging a different form of communication? *How has blogging changed the ways in which we now communicate--think in terms of this class as well as at large. *Define the genre of the blog. What are its conventions?

Part (2)--The life of a blog
You need to create a digital map of the life of a blog. What I am looking for is you to show me the life of a blog through the genre of a map. You can find a blog to use as your context or you can use the activity above as a starting point or you can just create a general map. Use whatever program you would like to create this but make sure that it is a map (which means it looks and feels like a map and uses the genre conventions of a map BUT you should know that there are many different "types" of maps from which you could model your after). Post the link into your comment.
Be creative--think openly---and show me the lifespan of a blog. ;-)

Reflection over Remediation

In this reflection, I want you to think through the process you took in creating your remediated key word projects. Compare it side by side to your process for your key word newsletter--how do they compare? Next, I want you to defend, with support, your choice of medium (this is a "real" defense so I need to be persuaded here =). Last, you need to quickly connect your theory of composing to all of this.

Make sure your reflection is fluid--this means even though you are discussing several things--find connections.

Facebook Me!

A phrase we're so used to hearing all the time!

You think social networking and automatically one thought comes to mind Facebook, but you have got to know that there is more to it then just that site, after all, that’s only one of the more popular ones.

Here is a brief history on social networking sites, and how they came about, but more importantly, we should discuss not their origin but their popularity.
It seems nowadays it’s almost a crime to say that you are not on Facebook. Asking for telephone numbers is getting overrated in this digital age, and we seem to be relying more and more on technology and less on direct communication. Social networking sites, like Facebook, act as a medium to bridge this communication gap.
Here is a typical conversation between two people that just met:

(insert party, or any other kind of social event)

Hey! It was nice meeting you tonight!

Yeah, it’s been great, find me on Facebook!

Or… you may get those people that just ask for your name and last name, so they may find you later, without actually mentioning it.

Of course we can’t forget the predecessors of Facebook, like Myspace and Friendster, but those seem to be way too outdated to even mention. And while Twitter is slowly hanging on, it seems to provide less than Facebook, since Twitter is all about letting your friends now where you are or what you are doing, but Facebook allows for a chat application
, as well as games, editing pictures, and the oh-so famous like button. I would say overall Facebook bridges that direct communication gap, by allowing users to connect, even if it is via the web.

This video, allows for a comical aspect of what Facebook represents in our society.

The popularity of Facebook does not seem to be dying down. With applications on phones like the
iphone, Blackberry and Droids, there is no escaping it. Facebook is not just another social networking site, but it is what you do when you are bored, want to read up on your friends, or want to get in contact with someone when you cannot use your phone.

And with a new hit movie being released recently, the Facebook trend has no sign of dying down.

Social Networks: The Window Into Your Life

(The screen you seen when you log on to your life Facebook.) 

I remember when I first made my Myspace page and it was the thing to have. It was a lot simpler then it first came out. You had control over who could post on your page, you only had one main picture on your page, and you felt more in control of your profile page. Of course to keep up with the trends I got a Facebook. It was my junior year of high school and as I started to look into different colleges our advisors warned us. “Facebook can ruin your future.” was the message that kept ringing in our ears over and over again.  Maybe they just weren’t clear enough, the word “future” was taken to lightly and maybe should have said “Facebook can ruin your LIFE” and it may have been more appropriate. We all know the stories about a friend who didn’t get a job because of what an employer saw on her page or someone getting in trouble for a video they posted. It only becomes real when that “friend” is your best friend or even yourself. These social networks we where we spend hours a day procrastinate doing homework or other important things. Social networks have become a window into your life and a source of cyber bullying.

I’ll never forget junior year when my friend, lets call her Amanda for the sake of this story. Amanda was going on vacation for two weeks with her family and would be in the Caribbean, with out cell phone use or Internet access. Before heading to the airport that day she had changed her default picture, updated her status, and replied back to the comments from the day before. While she was off having a blast in the Caribbean having a carefree time, back home little did she know her Facebook page was being vandalized, for lack of better wording.  Amanda and her boyfriend had recently broken up and she was definitely moving on quicker than he was. In a jealous frenzy, that is the only way I could remotely justify it, he had tagged her in humiliating pictures he had posted on his page and took the liberty to share with all his friends. For two weeks with no cell phone and/or Internet access Amanda page had become a free-for-all with everyone commenting and some defending her. Her initial excitement upon her arrival back to the states Amanda was excited to update her Facebook with pictures from the trip. When she began to receive all the missed text messages and calls from the past two weeks she knew something was wrong. Why was everyone asking her about her Facebook? What had been posted? Why was everyone freaking out? She couldn’t get to a computer fast enough.

The top left corner reads:

157 Notifications

25 Messages

8 Event Request

3 Friend Request

(OMG she had never seen so many)

When she clicked to view her page, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Chaos everywhere. With in 5 minutes everything was deleted, her entire Facebook page as well had been removed. Just when she thought it was over on Monday morning when she went to school she was called to the Principal’s office to “discuss the issues on Facebook” and the moment she heard those words  she knew what was next to come would not be good.

Statistics on Social Networks

Did you know that.....

1. According to a study done by CNN, 43% of online news sharing occurs via social networks.

2. A study done by comScored comparing mobile content use between the U.S., Japan, and Europe 21% of the U.S. cell phone users wen ton a social network or blog via their mobile phone alone.

3. Facebook passes Yahoo to become the number #2 video site in the United States right after Youtube. 

4. An alarming number of younger generation are on social networks, 54% of 13-14 year olds have a Facebook page. 

5. The average 15-17 year old Internet user spends 19.9 hours a week online. 

6. According to PC Advisor, as of September 2010, 60% of Web users visit social networks.

VS 

VS 

THESE NUMBERS ARE ALARMING. 

The trend is so overwhelming there has even been a movie made about social networks: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB95KLmpLR4

Text Ya Later

Revolutionized. Desired. Needed. Thought about constantly. The desire and need to get one is so overpowering that we’ll do it in class, we’ll do it in a movie, and we’ll do it even if it’s threatened to be taken away. We know the risks: we could lose all our friends, we could end a relationship, and we could crash our cars, any number of things.

With this description, what did you think I was talking about? Drugs? Alcohol?... No. I am talking about texting. Texting is one of the most important parts of my life, your life, and through process of learning, our parent’s lives as well. It has become the new method of communication, and the preferred way at that.

"I’ll Text ya later!"
If you were born in the digital age, you have probably said those words…today. Texting is easier than anything for people of our generation. It isn’t surprising to be seated next to your friend in a large lecture class, and send them a text message. You may send someone a text message after going on a date just saying “ I had fun”, and laugh if you will, but you know you have done it.

Texting is part of our lives. Period. We have all been texting for at least a quarter of our lives, and that significance is something in ignorable. It’s a desire we can’t fight, something we must do in order to feel “okay”. We must send that “hey” or “what’s up” to know that we have at least put fourth our side of the effort for a friendship. A friendship that once relied on conversations, meetings, gatherings, and in person contact has no alluded to a time where you could go a month without visually seeing someone and become even closer. Texting has that affect on us. I’m not saying its bad or good, I’m just saying that is what it is.

Texting does many things for us:

It’s the easiest way to fake a conversation:

Bad and good. Picture you: you’re the “basket-case-oh-my-god-kill-me-my-boy-friend-just-broke-up-with-me” friend. You pour your heart out and expect everyone to care and come to your beck and call at the drop of a hat. For you, texting is key. You will fall in love with repetitive letters, emoticons, and expressive texting.

"ohhhh myyy godddd. WHY did he just say that to me!?!? I am soooooo maddd :("

But then there’s your friend. With her, getting a response is like pulling teeth. She will reply “nothing” to your “what’s the matter?” text thousands of times before telling you that night drunk at a bar. Verdict? She is the normal one. She hasn’t passed that “cosmic convergence” of needing to tell you through a text and then pretending it never happened later on at that same bar, because she already “poured her heart out over texting”.


It’s a means of theatrical entertainment:
When texting gets dramatic, it’s common to see things like this.

You “sound” upset

Why do you “sound” so mad?

You “seem” happy!

HELLO! You cannot make a sound through a text message, or notice how a person seems to feel. Not. Possible. End of story.

It can “speak” for us:

Texting is now becoming vocalized! With the new droid, and many other new and coming phones, we can do even more destruction! While driving you can now text, safely…What!? Yes, the droid has taken us to that point. We can speak what we want to “say” in texting. This is both good and bad, but more importantly, it drives us towards the future.


Texting allows us great things, but when it’s taken too far, it gets out of hand. People have lost relationships, friends, companions, and their lives because of “unsafe texting”. I’m not saying texting is bad, because in fact I do it just as much as you. But just think, if in ten years we went from a cell phone the size of a computer, to what we have now….Texting is about to get even more crazy.

Changing LIVES... One Child At A Time.

Adopting and changing the lives of children all over the world. There has been several controversial debates as to whether it's right or wrong. Who knows which celebrity was the first to begin the whole craze. One thing that is for sure, is that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie definitely played a huge role in making it widely popular. 


Angelina and Brad have 6 kids, three of which have been adopted. Before her relationship with Pitt even bloomed, Angelina had already adopted her first child Maddox in 2002 from Cambodia, who was later adopted by Pitt as well. Together the couple adopted Zahara from Ethiopia in 2005, and Vietnamese Pax in 2007. After receiving so much attention from the press and the media, Brad and Angelina better became known as Brangelina. 


This couple became a huge discussion across the world. There were debates on whether it was right or wrong for them to adopt. Questions like, was it for the right reason? Are they capable of fulfilling this child's life? Were they getting too much attention? Was this lifestyle healthy for the children? Were they spending their money most effectively? America became obsessed with the couple and demanded updates ever minute of the day. I think still til this day, these questions remain unanswered in many of the media's eyes, but I also think it has opened the eyes of others. On a positive note, Brangelina inspired many to explore their options of adoption. Being such popular public figures that they are, they had an advantage of easily influencing their audience. 


Other celebrity families have followed in the footsteps of Brangelina, and expanded their family by adopting a child. Some rides along the way have not been so easy such as Madonna's with adopting one of her children. Madonna is a mother to two adopted children, David Banda, and a Malawian child Mercy James. Conflict arose when Madonna first attempted to adopt Mercy James. There was a debate on the controversies of raising a child outside of their culture. 


Adoption has opened up so many opportunities to many individuals. For example, before adoption was some what acceptable within the gay community, same sex couples were at a loss when it came to children. Celebrities such as Rosie O Donnell and wife Kelli helped change the lives of people in this situation. Rosie and Kelli adopted Parker Jaron (born in 1995), Chelsea Belle(1997), and Blake Christopher in 1999. Their fourth child Viviane Rose, born in 2002 was concieved through aritificial insemination. The couple tried to adopt a foster child in 2001 but sadly the state of Florida banned same sex adoptions. Despite this unfortunate situation, the O' Donnells along with others as public figures, in my eyes help make this more acceptable. 

One more thing I wanted to take notice to was the increase of adoptions within single parents. Very recently Sandra Bullock has taken on the responsibility to raise a child on her own. Although this wasn't her original plan, when beginning the process four years ago with her husband at the time. Sandra hasn't been hesitate with moving on despite her separation from her husband because of cheating. Sandra is the mother of 9 month-old son Louis Bardo Bullock, who she will now raise as a single mother. Sandra has become an inspiration at it's best. There are so many women in this world that can easily relate to her situation. Despite her wealth, Sandra's will to move through pain says a lot about her character, it's REAL.

Hip-Hop Has Saved Me

Electric Relaxation

Its like looking into a beautiful, free flowing river

The sounds mix together to form recurring waves of relaxation

The words, like the glittering pebbles at the rivers floor, sparkle against the sunlight

And combine with the waves to form a stream of pure, genuine magnificence

It’s called a song

You want to jump in headfirst

It’s such an inviting atmosphere

The hardships of life burn down on you like the sweltering heat of the sun

The stories within these songs are so much like your own

You just want to cool off

You surrender to it

The music, like the free flowing river, takes you away

You’re floating within the purity, later submerging into the honesty

It consumes you, making its way into your heart and soul

You’re at peace.

Many people find refuge within music. I personally think of music as a necessity to life. I can’t go anywhere without my iPod and headphones. To me, music is a lot more than a simple form of entertainment; it’s a culture, a way of life. One genre of music in particular that seems to have had a great influence on society (and my personal favorite) is hip-hop.

A Brief History of Hip-Hop

The origin of hip-hop music is from African American and West African music. Contributions of griots like The Last Poets, Jalal Mansur Nurriddin, and Gil Scott-Heron were significant in a big way for the dawn of hip-hop in the 1960s.

In 1975 in the Bronx of New York, Clive "Hercules" Campbell, or "Kool Herc", a Jamaican DJ, started making music with two turntables out of “breakbeats” which was basically separating the percussion breaks from hit songs. They started realizing that these breaks were more entertaining and the favorite part of the song for most dancers. Meanwhile, Theodore "Grand Wizard" Livingstone was accidentally discovering the "scratching" sound of a turntable. The technical foundations of rap and hip-hop music were laid by those two more or less random events.

Just to clear the air, Rap is a form of music that stemmed from hip-hop culture. Hip-hop is a lifestyle with its own lingo, dress code, etc. Many people often confuse both terms thinking that they are the same, but they have separate meanings. In the words of KRS-One, "hip-hop is something you live, rap is something you do."

Hip-hop as a musical melting pot is still evolving. It has beco

me more eclectic, borrowing from soul, jazz and live instrumentations with the likes of De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and most recently Kanye West championing the ‘soulful rap’ movement.

Kick, Push

One aspect of hip-hop culture that is often overlooked is skateboarding. Expression, creativity, rebellion it’s all hip-hop as well as skateboarding culture. Hip-hop began well before skateboarding did as a sport, but they both blew up at the same time. Growing up together, many of their attributes intertwine and feed off of each other. You’d see those partaking within the hip-hop world fashion-wise, wear similar things to skateboarders these days. Many hip-hop artists such as Pharrell and Lupe Fiasco, are known as Skate Fashion Icons. Lupe Fiasco even recorded a song solely about skateboarding called “Kick, Push”, check out the music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl83mI69nX4

Skateboarding IS Hip-Hop

Hip-hop has been, and continues to be, one of the most influential genres in music. In my case, hip-hop is my medicine. It is my Electric Relaxation. I titled my poem Electric Relaxation alluding to the song by A Tribe Called Quest (one of the most significant hip-hop groups of all time) it is one of my personal favorites. Just like I find a cure in hip-hop, many find it within their own favorite genre, or music in general. Whichever it may be, music can never be given enough credit.

Fantastical Reality

With football season in full swing you've probably heard mention of Fantasy Football at least once. It is a growing craze that draws in not only the male dynamic but a few females, including myself, as well. What exactly is Fantasy Football and why can't your husband step away from the computer long enough on Sundays and Mondays to notice you're alive? 

Here's a play-by-play breakdown:

Draft - pick the best players as well as your personal favorites to create a powerhouse team, just hope someone else doesn't pick your guy first

Weekly Match Ups - pitted against friends, enemies, and complete strangers you watch as your players rack up, and down, points based on personal performance and hope like hell your team gets more points then the other dude

Rankings - watch as you climb up the leader board (or down if you chose your players poorly), if you bet on the league watch as wins = $$$ in your pocket

That's the essentials.

TJ Who's Your Mama

Now...

Necessary Points to remember:

• You must be at the draft or else the computer and your league mates will screw you over
• You must watch every game, your players won't possibly do as well without you cheering them on
• You must talk about Fantasy Football at any and all times in order to ensure no one forgets what a BAMF (aka Dork) you are
• You must watch every ESPN football discussion to ensure you are up-to-date on every player and game

Fantasy Football Advice

For those of you still with us

The Finer Details

This is not a sport's version of World of Warcraft, this is no made up universe with elves and shit. This is real football.

This is not an Xbox Madden game where you make up players and dictate what happens. This is real football.

This is real NFL players in actual real time football games earning points based on personal performance on the field.

This is real football.

No Excuse

RULE 37: No Excuses Play Like A Champion

iEverything.

iEverything.

Apple products are original electronics that are very trendy. I can honestly say my iPhone has changed my life. I’m unsure what I did before I had it. How did I used to read e-mail? I think I used to have to delete text messages when my memory was too full on my old phone.

I don’t think very many people remember what they did before their smart phones. They are devices that can act as a conveyance between bank accounts, they can play any game they desire on them, and can also do work on them. They are a balance of work and play in the palm of our hand. Netflix can now be streamed through phones as well. Well never be bored again.

These smart phones employ everything that is trendy and popular today. We have already established movies, but social networking is a trend we see that enables people to share information, ideas and thoughts. Two popular social networking sites that are very popular are Twitter and Facebook. Twitter is updated via cell phone as well as Facebook which allows instant publication of a persons thoughts, feelings, location and whatever else they feel they want to share with their online community. Professional sports scores, are also something we may use applications to check on a phone, and many applications allow us to interact such as blogging or fan chat.

YouTube videos are in a way a social networking site as well. Anybody can post a video on YouTube can post a video and it can become a sensation far away from its origination. A YouTube video that is quite popular now, called “Huntsville Intruder” (a hilarious video, watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzNhaLUT520) caught on and he now had several iPhone apps featuring himself.

Text messaging is perhaps the most addicting aspect of cell phone use. It is more accessible than making a call. Texting can be done in complete silence. It has rapidly caught on and many people prefer texting over talking to people.

A few texting statistics…

(taken from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1134713/fun_facts_about_text_messaging_.html?cat=9_)

77% of people have admitted to text messaging while driving.

79% of people have text messaged while using the bathroom.

37% of people have sent a text message during graduation

18% of people have text messaged during a wedding

16% of people have sent a text message during a funeral.

Over 18.5 billion text messages are sent each month.

62% of people use text messaging to communicate with friends

Many people view their cell phone as their key to their world. It involves media, leisure, communication and many other aspects of what is now part of our daily life together to one device. This device is a persons life. Cell phones were created for convenience, but they have evolved into something more. They are a way to manage everything in a persons life. So, in a way, the creators of the cell phone have achieved their goal, but what exactly has that goal come to? The convenience is always going to be there, but some view it as a distraction today.

R-E-C-Y-C-L-E : Recycle

Chances are if you own a television, radio, computer, read newspapers or have access to any type of technology capable of linking you to the outside world than you’ve heard the term “going green”. Maybe you recycle, maybe you pollute, maybe you’ve never heard about environmentalism or reducing your carbon footprint - and if you say yes to that last part I think maybe you’re a liar – but the truth is that environmentalism is one of the fastest growing and most popular social movements in today’s world.

Now, I’m not a hardcore environmentalist (actually, I hardly ever recycle) but I have to admire anyone’s effort to improve our planet. After all, leading an environmentally friendly life is costly, from buying organic foods, clothing, energy efficient cars etc. and generally inconvenient – these companies will tell you all about that.

From my perspective the way we look at environmental conservation today has changed drastically now that we have so many new technologies. Growing up everyone always tapped their foot and said, “save some for the fishes” to the water hog at the fountain. Today it’s a little different. We tell people to buy reusable bottles and recyclable products. We tell them to vote for environmentally active politicians. Our generation is involved in green projects across the globe, we care about conserving our planet’s natural resources, finding new energy sources and bringing basic human needs to third world populations. Environmental activism is endorsed by celebrities, political figures, radicals and everyday young people like ourselves.

So, why is going green so popular? MTV has launched its new Switch campaign “MTV Networks International's Global Climate Change Campaign. [Where they look] for the best ideas and innovations that can help reinvent how we live in ways that are cool for us and the planet” and colleges across the country are competing to be among the top green campuses. I think that our generation is particularly concerned with going green because we want a safe and secure future and preserving our environment is one step along the path to that future. Also, helping to save our environment is something that we can have a direct hand in right now. Many of us aren’t old enough yet to have considerable influence in the political arena and raising awareness through other outlets – particularly new technologies like social networks – comes natural to us “digital natives”. We’re able to utilize modes of communication that we’re familiar with to generate awareness among our age group like never before.

Just by doing a quick Google search you can find droves of eco-friendly places in the Tallahassee area. The Double Tree Hotel has a 2 Green Eco-Leaf rating (out of five leaves – a good start), New Leaf Market provides organic and natural products and foods to its shoppers, and Red Eye Coffee, which carries only fair trade coffee, are just a few.

Here’s a few simple ways to “go green” – 29 to be exact.

http://www.squidoo.com/agreenlife

Lights, camera, FASHION

From the days of Coco Chanel to today’s red-carpet-walking celebrities, style has always been a staple in popular culture. I personally enjoy pretty much everything from shoes and bags to headbands and sunglasses. It’s fun to buy things that make you excited and happy, and even more enjoyable to dress up.

Fashion can be inspiring and uplifting. It can make you look forward to things that you might normally not be thrilled about; going to that distant relatives wedding can be less painful if you’re wearing something you’re absolutely obsessed with (and can’t believe you got on sale). Thus, wearing something you like makes you feel good, almost empowered. When you have something like a job interview or event to attend, the better you look, the better you feel. And the better you feel, the better you’ll do.

People who get their pride and confidence from what they look like are materialistic and shallow. It’s is on the inside that counts. These people always waste a ton of money on things.

Not necessarily. Fashion can be a hobby- something you do that makes you happy. Just because you don’t do it outside and it doesn’t involve tackling or rackets doesn’t mean it doesn’t count.

Clothes and material things should be what you use to describe who you are; instead, they are helpful tools in expressing yourself. Moreover, magazines like InStyle cater to both the wealthy and budgeted, showcasing designer shoes and handbags but offering tips on how to find trendy items for less or how to make the most out of what’s in your closet.

So you should just drown yourself in a bunch of magazines to decide what you should wear? Sounds lame.

Magazines, websites, and TV shows revolving around fashion trends and well-dressed socialites are easy to find and even easier to get addicted to. The Rachel Zoe Show, for example, follows the celebrity stylist fast-paced and super stylish life as she dresses A-list celebs for award shows and galas. Shows like this inspire people to express themselves through fashion. Give one a chance and you'll see.

Okay, so lets say I watch one of these shows and get hooked. That leads me to my next point: fashion-obsessed people are unoriginal. They follow the same trends and, while they’re trying to show their individualism through their style, end up all wearing the same thing they all saw in last month’s magazines. They look like a bunch of over-dressed posers.

Actually, fashion makes the world a better looking place. What is more aesthetically pleasing: a city full of disheveled slobs, or a society of people that look dignified and like they have at least a little pride?

Yeah, but then again, how many people do you see in person and on TV wearing zebra-print jumpsuits and ten pounds of cakey makeup that think they look great? Fashion is a deathtrap-it can go wrong in more ways than it can go right.

That’s fair. But there are tons of resources for people that like fashion, you just have to know where to look. Like, if you want to come up with cute ideas for what to wear to work, check somewhere like shopbop.com or the catalog of a department store like Bloomingdale’s or Nordstrom, not last week’s episode of Jersey Shore.

Alright, I guess it won't hurt to takesome pride in what I look. I’m not putting on any makeup, though.

Give it some time. You'll get there, and you'll like it.

Whatever. Pass the remote, Project Runway is about to start.

...Oh man...watch with me here!