Final Project=Ready

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4/23/10 Final Website Review

I looked over the final portfolio for Meredith McKee, a student from Ball State University. Her website was extremely organized and had a logical flow once I understood how to navigate. Her use of colors, contrasts, and images really enhances her overall impact on the reader and her personable intro really allow for a connection. I do, however, feel that the reader could be better directed around the website; it is well thought-out, but the small font makes it hard to distinguish navigational buttons from those inherent on a webpage. Her different interests are reflected in her writing; coupled with her well-formulated webpage, her writing leaves a lasting impact.

Nickel and Dimed

The author of the ethnographic study 'Nickel and Dimed' does an excellent job in the briefing of describing her paper. Most of the excerpt is based around her own evaluation of the process, and her ability to defend every single course of her study. She fully diagnoses her own standing pre-study against what she wants to learn from the study, leveraging her credibility against her own inner feelings of the ethnographic process. This is to the benefit of her entire audience as well as herself, as she is able to objectively view her own purpose.

However, her scientific analysis come into play at the expense of the personality of her paper. Granted, low-income status is nothing to laugh about, but 'Nickel and Dimed' (from the excerpt) seems to be written with a lack of personality. Her study largely is about the dynamic between poverty-stricken people as well as herself, and I feel this could be somewhat more incorporated into her brief. Her scientific background clearly shows as the briefing of the paper reads more like an abstract of an experiment rather than the largely influential, personable paper it could be.

What's Missing

I feel that overall I have a pretty good grip on my study thus far and feel fairly well-directed as to where I go from here. I need to focus on the big picture moreso than on specific attributes of CF and Paleo; however, the passion I want to relay about Paleo+CF must first be justified with studies proving it. I am having difficulty recording too many observations about the gym- it's pretty business-like except for the five minutes before a workout and ten minutes afterwards. Any observations I gain are squeezed in between my own workout.

I want to start focusing on the overall meaning of the diet and the gym to those who are in this nutrition subsection. It won't be hard to incorporate this because I can feel their passion every time they talk about CFPaleo; it's just a matter of working it into my paper.

Secondary Sources

Any secondary sources associated with my ethnographic study in a pure sense will be interviews. There is hardly any research on the topic that is non-scientific and written for the casual reader. And, to add to that, any reading not in lay terms is likely unhelpful to my topic of Paleo and Crossfit for a group of people.
However, most of my secondary sources will be used in my description of the lifestyle and the potential health benefits it manifests. This section of my final paper will likely be more science based and less perception, and it makes sense to add any secondary sources to this section. To start off the chain of secondary sources describing the health benefits of Paleo and Crossfit, I submit a great article from the New England Journal of Medicine. This gives conclusion based on a study showing the effects of a low-carbohydrate diet. In a two year study, weight loss was followed in patients eating a low carb, Meditteranean, and high fat diet. The results are particularly interesting and support the premonitions of the Crossfit+Paleo group that I am studying.

Post 3.18.2010 Essay resource thoughts

For my third essay, with the relative abstraction of my topic, I will have to look at different areas of thought for background. All of the information that I have so far in my paper is anecdotal and empirical and has no real source of scientific background other than basic draws from scientific studies. I will need to look into journals of kinesiology, biochemistry, and even public health for background on The Paleo Diet and Crossfit. These are really the only sources I can think from which to draw scientific fundamentals for my paper. The psychology of health might also be helpful to research, as Paleo and Crossfit is as much physical as psychological.

MIDTERM PORTFOLIO

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-Thanks!

Short Observation

I realized very quickly that the Paleo diet was more than a simple diet. It resembled a true way of life, a way of thinking, a way of eating the things that made people feel the very best they could. Trying to learn more about the diet, I followed Steger to a gym called CrossFit Blacksburg, a small, corner of a building gym with 5 pullup bars, 8 lifting bars, and old, rubber weight plates. It seemed as if the next logical step after Paleo was joining this gym. Or maybe joining the gym was the first step to going Paleo. Either way, the individuals in this gym (Chuck, a rubgy player, Marsha, a 60 some year old lady, and Garrett, an ROTC guy at Radford) all had something figured out. For an hour, they worked out in short spurts of as little as 3 minutes to up to 20 minutes, and on this particular day only did about 15 minutes of solid lifting, the rest of the time spent stretching, doing handstands, doing pullups, pushups, essentially jungle gym activities. A main part of their hour in the gym was the probably 10 minutes or so that they simply fired questions about nutrition to eachother, ranging from topics like fish oil, insulin response, and the lowest sugar fruits.

20 minute observation fieldwork

My 20 minute observation started a little unorthodox in nature, as I was unsure of a concrete, tangible location in which to do actual fieldwork. However, that soon became a non-issue.

As I decided to begin working with the Paleo diet and following its guidelines for health, I knew I was very limited by my simple knowledge base of the whole process. So I decided to bring it up in conversation with a few good friends in a car ride back from Snowshoe, WV, a few select friends who pride themselves on being healthy, but not following Paleo. By speaking with them, I would be able to hear my intial discerning, anti-Paleo thoughts while spreading some of the ideas I had learned about Paleo.

"Where do you get your carbs?"
"You're telling me milk is bad for you?"
"So whole-grain pasta- high in fiber and B vitamins, is a no go?"

And I could only give a few select ideas from what I knew from the reading I had done (thepaleodiet.com, robbwolf.com). I knew I would have to learn more, somehow. I needed to find a veritable Paleo-epicenter, a tangible location to view others while doing my own personal learning. There has to be somewhere where people who are this health-conscious meet and interact, it's too extreme and effective for there not to be a small contingent of Paleo-ers somewhere.

And for my 20 minute-observation, to make it fit with the assignment, I'll give some initial thoughts about my being on the Paleo diet for a week now.

I feel awful. Having no starchy carbs is leaving me with no energy. I can feel my glycogen (energy in my muscles) not being replaced after a long walk up a hill, leaving me sucking wind. My head feels light just before mealtimes, like I'm craving a MilkyWay bar or a Coca-Cola. One of the only things that's keeping me up is coffee, of which the flow is plentiful, and to top it all of my workout routine is really suffering, because I just want to sleep all the time. My stomach hurts with the massive influx of vegetables, fats from olive oils and nuts, and citrusy fruits. You may think this is going wrong, but I am right on schedule. I have been warned that the first week to two weeks of Paleo makes you feel like death, and only when your body can convert from using sugars and starches as the main energy source to using fats and going into ketosis for energy do you realize the full benefits of Paleo. Not here in the blog, but in the Essay will be a dumbed-down scientific reasoning (to the best of my ability) of the process. Here's to hoping it works! Got to plug on through!

Lay of the Land 2.19.10

The Lay of the Land example was an excellent demonstration of how a well-written ethnographic study should fully immerse the reader. By using a sensory imaging of the bowling alley (while able to not pander towards just being sensually effective), it was a great layout of the ethnographic study. More important than its ability to place the reader IN the bowling alley, the Lay of the Land was able to conceptually/intellectually engage the reader by its overall simple structure, yet meaningful conceptual base. It transports the reader into any bowling alley that he or she has ever been to, maintaining its professionalism about this single bowling alley, to which no one has been. Great piece of work, nice basis for Essay 2.

Site Ideas for Ethnography

Math Emporium

Corps of Cadets

Panera Bread

******* NEW SEMESTER *********

FINAL PORTFOLIO

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The Shawshank Redemption

A true underdog story mixed with a gripping combination of intellect and crime. Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins), the main character, is sent away to prison for being falsely accused of murdering his cheating wife. In prison, he becomes close with Red (played by Morgan Freeman), and the two of them become good friends. Throughout his time in prison, the film focuses on Andy's inherent traits of intellect and integrity, as he works to financially frame the warden who involved him in a money laundering scheme. Along with the dark piano musical score, the true nature of the darkness of prison as well as an individual's short-term futility with those more powerful truly connect the viewer to the sturuggle of an innocent Andy. Moreover, the film describes an individual's ability to be free even in prison, and, more specifically, the ability of truth to spwan hope. A must see!

The Devil Wears Prada Review

In the first ten minutes of this film, the true nature of the entire film is exposed. Ann Hathaway and Meryl Streep star as the main duo as the underdog, fashionless college grad applying for a job to a high-end fashionista's glamor magazine. With the accompaniment of music and with the divulging comparison of Hathway to the other ladies working at the magazine, you truly feel sympthay for Hathway's character. With her odd-ball antics as well as her awkward dialogue, the viewer is truly put into the situation of the movie. And the star Meryl Streep is very convincing, as she always is, playing the snobby fashion exec. Looking forward to watching the other 120 minutes of the film!

Website critique.

As imagined, I critiqued Tyler's website. Her layout and overall site is much more in-depth than my own website- I especially like her color scheme. It makes it very easy to read everything and also adds an almost soothing effect to the website in general. Her introduction page is a very in depth description of herself and the website's purpose; it makes it very easy to get ot know her and also connect with the writings. The (cheesy) pictures on her intro slide also add a personal level that adds to the entire effectiveness of the website. I especially enjoyed the side by side layout of her pages, with one side containing the writing and the other containing the description of the writings. At the bottom of her blog page, there is a link to her entire blog, which adds a nice touch. Her ICW page scared the hell out of me with the music for the game- maybe a little misplaced. The consistency in heading with the pen and paper pencil adds a great touch to the website.

Ad Blog: Marines "The Climb"

My chosen advertisement for the assignment is the Marine Corps' recruiting ad titled "The Climb". It is a very well-thought out advertisement playing on many different dynamics of potential recruits as well as their families. Another interesting facet of the commercial and its underlying meaning is the fact that the commercial is paid for with American tax dollars funneled into Defense spending; therefore, the makers of the commercial produced what they felt was the clearest, most poignant advertisement with as little risk as possible.

The whole advertisement is a long-running metaphor for the process to become a Marine. What's important to realize is that the intended group is Marine recruits: high school dropouts and graduates, blacks and whites, the weak and the strong. The only linking characteristic of the target audience is the fact that they can understand and want to be pushed by the challenge of joining the Marines. When the man starts out climbing (a very unrealistic climb, mind you, straight up a crumbling rock face with no safety mechanism at all) it shows the potential recruit the path will be a tough one. As the man reaches the top, it shows that he is tired and haggard from the climb, yet still able to move, making the process of becoming a Marine attainable. And when the man is saluted by the other dressed Marine, with the voice over saying that he will be joining the brotherhood of the few, it makes the trip seem worthwhile.

The entire advertisement is a very interesting use of personality profiles for potential recruits. In some ways, it is funny how the makers of the commercial chose their own path, playing off a man's masculinity and inherent macho-ism to get the to join the Marine Corps. I look forward to expounding upon some of the basic ideas I have laid out here in my project.

Spam 10.26.09

I have never eaten Spam. My decision to never eat Spam is roughly based on my seeing Spam at a young age and immediately vowing to never put that gelatinous meat goop into my body.

Reading Chu's "Spam: Meaning" showed me that some people eat Spam consistently, despite their own palates, out of necessity. She even goes so far to mention that there are people who eat Spam not out of necessity but out of desire. Spam has become the brunt of many lower-class jokes but is there such a lower-class monopolization of Spam to merit these jokes? Chu argues no, that Spam, although cheap and disgusting in all of its not-exactly-natural goodness, can be chosen, even craved.

And although some people love Spam and some people unequivocally hate Spam, there is not a single person in this world is uninterested in a can of Spam. The bold, deli-style colors of its can, strange consistency, and processed contents make it intriguing, while its class status make sit more or less fascinating.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Having gone back and forth on the topic an infinite number of times, I feel almost like the ending steps of a Maclaurin series finally having reached a suitable topic.

My family is very sports-oriented. My younger brother is a wide receiver at the University of Richmond, the defending D-1AA national champions. My oldest cousin is a scholarship baseball player at Catawba College in North Carolina and is planning on being drafted into the Major Leagues either this draft or the next. My younger cousin was ranked as one of the top ten baseball players in North Carolina for his age when he was 11, 12, 13, and 14. He is now the quarterback of a championship high school in North Carolina. My mother and grandfather run marathons to this day.

I, however, am not so naturally blessed with athletic ability. Although I am not by any means unathletic, although most of my sporting ability comes from having, by threat of ridicule, to play competitively against my brother and cousins in every sport imaginable.

My efforts to be an athlete left me in an untenable position, resulting in a profligate use of time and energy. My area of ability has always been in the classroom through thought, speech, and language. I am admittedly a nerd deep down. I can hide it well sometimes, but it eventually comes out.

I will do my project on my struggle to identify myself, even sometimes to this day, with either the world of academia or athletics. These two are by no means by definition mutually exclusive, but it's funny how it often tends to be.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc:

Roughly translated: "after this, therefore, because of this"

Did I become a fan of the classroom simply by default? Was I pushed into something other than sports when I realized that I could no longer hang with my two-years-junior brother? Interesting to think about.

"Introduction to Financial Crises" by George Cooper

The one reading I am drawn to enough to write about here is "The Introduction of Financial Crises" by George Cooper. An excellent read for any person who is interested in the, well, origins of the financial crisis, this book spends a predominant amount of its pages reuting the Random Walk Hypothesis. This hypothesis, a cornerstone of economic theory, states that the activity of a financial market today has no effect on the activity of the same financial market tomorrow, that market performance follows a 'random walk.' However, using empirical evidence and solid logic, George Cooper casts serious doubt on the foundation of the Random Walk Hypothesis and its applications.

And it all makes sense as well. The Random Walk Hypothesis states that because a market follows no set path and that, you can't predict it. Because a market can only go up or down, the application of the random walk hypothesis is like flipping a coin x number of times. The larger x becomes, the likelier the outcomes of the coin flip become perfectly split (100 flips- 50 heads 50 tails). A market's value according to the RWH should always remain halfway in between the two extremes, negative infinity and positive infinity, or exactly zero.

However, common knowledge states that once recessions occurr, they snowball, and become deeper, and not by chance alone. It is a clear shortfall of the RWH that once markets start to fail, people react, facilitating their failures and withdrawing all of their money.

This reading is a great read for anybody remotely interested in what is happening in today's economy.