Initiating action genre

The video genre is so broad that all sorts of people use it in many different ways. I don't think it has any real conventions, since I have seen videos serve similar purposes to mine and have nothing in common with each other.

Regarding the persuasive letter and petition side of my project, just about anyone trying to persuade an audience or make an appeal to authority can use these methods. Persuasive letters have a defined basic structure that most people follow. I feel this outline from http://www.andrewseaton.com.au/gpersuad.htm does a good job of detailing this structure.

1. Initial details, including senders address, date, recipient's name and address, and greeting.
2. The writer's basic position or point of view is clearly stated.
3. Arguments for the point of view are presented in logical order, along with evidence, reasons and/or examples. Older students might also make some acknowledgment of the main arguments against their point of view, and answer them.
4. Summing up of argument, and restating of the point of view taken.
5. Formal sign-off.

The persuasive letter also uses a formal tone and is written primarily in present tense.

source: http://www.andrewseaton.com.au/gpersuad.htm

Time to initiate some action

I'm definitely going to go with aerials over swing awareness. I kind of already used swing awareness and even though it took me a while to think of it, the aerials thing is something that has actually bothered me for a while.

I respect that there are no aerials allowed on the social dance floor, because space is limited, and in that setting people tend to be dancing with lots of new partners. That said, it is a problem that there is currently no time or place to do aerials.

I would like to, if possible, go about this project in a multi-pronged way. I got some really good suggestions in class on Wednesday, and I think I could be most effective in accomplishing my goal if I use several different tools working together.

First I will write a letter to the dominant swing organizations here expressing my opinion on the aerial situation. A point I might use is that high school kids do them often, so why can't we? A friend of mine from high school that i have done several aerials with actually attends Tech, so I could even offer to teach a workshop on aerials for more experienced dancers. I might also follow this letter with a petition requesting a time and place to do aerials and/or learn new ones.

The second part of my plan is to make a video similar to what was discussed in class on Wednesday. The idea with this part of the plan is to make more people aware of aerials and send a message asking why we cant do them here. The video could be posted online to bring people into the "movement." People are far more likely to watch a movie than to read anything, so this would be a good way of getting the cause to a larger group of people. I have a rough vision for it, although I'm not yet sure how to put it in words. I would actually like to talk to a few classmates and friends of mine from swing again before i get much further with the video ideas.

Initiating action

This is from the last election. Eminem made a music video for a song called "Mosh" that was all about our political situation and built up to "Go vote."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOLMVQa0KD8

This one is a recent speech made by Barack Obama in Richmond.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9OhVMHIuO4

And for those with 40 minutes to spare, I think Obama's speech on race is a brilliant example.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWe7wTVbLUU

Response to a response

This is the second time it has been pointed out to me that I open my fourth paragraph with the same sentence I use to end my first. I did that intentionally for effect, but perhaps such an effect is more effective in a speech and I shouldn't use it here.
In the fourth paragraph, my use of "called back" twice in such close proximity just needs to be changed. I missed that in my first edit, which is unusual, because that is something I tend to notice and try to change.
The comment about most people not knowing what open or closed posture are is definitely true. I'm not sure, however, if I should just say, "switching postures," because that also sounds confusing. Maybe it just sounds that way to me, but I'll have to look into a way to make it better.
The bit about my needing a more definite conclusion is definitely true. I just kind of left the essay, which kind of drops the effect of the whole thing. It looks like I need to make my point a little clearer.

What is an essay?

I think an essay is a sort of writing that has a strong personal presence. It should feel like the author is speaking to the reader. It can be about anything, but the personal presence is crucial. Moreover, for an essay to be good, I think it needs to be written with a passion. That is, the author has to care about the writing and has to want to say something. The author has to have something to say, and to write a good essay, has to want to say it.

Essays?

The Stunt Pilot and Ali in Havana are different from most essays I've read, although they do accomplish the purpose of conveying information to an audience. Whereas they didn't lay out a clear thesis, they did give a multitude of details on their subject and get the author's viewpoint across. These essays are definitely somewhere between short stories and essays, and I don't know exactly what it is, but they have more of an essay feel, despite conveying information in a story-like format. Perhaps the many intricate details or the deep explanations are the cause of this feeling. The stories are so packed full of information, that they become essays. What makes it difficult to notice you're reading an essay is that every single fact is presented to the reader with an image, rather than simply stated and left alone. That attribute alone can give anything the tone of a story. An example comes in the explanation of gravity boots in The Stunt Pilot. Dillard explains the concept of gravity boots, and then gives the image of children running around to find their parents hanging upside down like bats.
I think an essay doesn't need a thesis, per se, but rather needs to educate a reader on a subject. Throwing in a point to prove is merely a bonus. Both of these compositions are loaded with information on a certain subject, and that's pretty much the only parallel I see with other essays.

Games, Games, and Lots of Work

So I finally have all of my gaming systems (N64, PS2, my roommate's X-360) hooked up to my TV, along with a secondary sound system positioned for use with the TV. It's kind of funny - at the beginning of the semester my RA said that subwoofers are pointless because high volume is a no-go, but I have two now, and no trouble about either.

On the work front, things are still picking up, which I'm happy about. The more I have to do, the higher percentage of my work gets done, and I'm closing in on being busy enough. I don't know why, but I do my best when I'm spread very thin. With any luck, my sleep schedule will fall into place with my work before too much longer. I'm perfectly capable of balancing games, social things, and homework/class, but the balance has shifted more towards work in the last two weeks, and I just need a few more days to finish the transition. The weekend should help. This still-working-at-3:00 A.M. has got to go (at least it's on its way out).