Response to Ivan's celebrity endorsement post

In this post, Ivan analyzes Tony Stewart’s celebrity endorsement with Burger King. Stewart is a NASCAR driver and has recently begun to promote Burger King. Ivan begins his blog by presenting a commercial in which Tony Stewart is teaching a class of other celebrities the proper way to endorse a product. He makes sure the class understands that you should endorse what you believe in. Stewart admits to loving the Whopper from Burger King, and that this is his reason for endorsing it.

Ivan explains how Burger King believes that the reason why Tony Stewart endorses their product is because he believes in it, is comfortable with it, and loves it. The fact that the only way to endorse Burger King is having a celebrity who can claim his devotion to the product and explain how it can satisfy his hunger. 

To conclude his blog, Ivan presents the fact that the endorsement with Tony Stewart has mutual benefits. For Burger King, additional publicity is formed due to the fact that Stewart promotes the Burger King logo on his NASCAR uniform and presents to the public his love for the Whopper. For Tony Stewart, endorsing Burger King has made him richer. Ivan includes an article regarding the multi-year contract Steward has signed with Burger King. Putting an article like this in the blog was definitely helpful as a reader to fully understand Stewart’s endorsement deal with Burger King and how it affects Stewart as well as Burger King.

I agree with what Ivan proposes in this blog. I believe Tony Stewart is a legitimate celebrity endorser for Burger King because he believes and loves the product. I think that the ideas and opinions presented in this blog are clear and convincing and are easy to follow with facts backing up his beliefs. 

Post 4: Compare two online articles

Underage drinking is a major issue in the United States. It has been a controversy ever since the drinking age was changed from eighteen to twenty-one in the 1980s. Many individuals throughout America are in favor of this change while a majority of the population opposes this change and wishes for the drinking age to be lowered back to eighteen. Both sides have a variety of valid reasons for taking one side or another. I researched and found two opposing online articles regarding this topic, both having many respectable points in favor of each stance.

The first article, “Do Not Lower the Drinking Age,” discusses reasons why the drinking age should not be lowered back to eighteen. It poses a variety of arguments with responses. In addition to posing certain arguments, it presents four main points with facts to back each up. The first point made is that lowering the drinking age will not reduce the attraction of alcohol for minors. If eighteen year-olds were allowed to drink alcohol, they would be modeling drinking for their younger peers as well as providing easier access to alcohol for minors.  Changing the drinking age to twenty-one is said to have actually decreased the number of youth’s alcohol consumption, and this article has statistics to back this statement up. The article goes onto say that lowering the drinking age does not increase responsibility and even though turning eighteen comes with many privileges such as voting, enlisting in the military, and even smoking; drinking should still not be allowed. The article says that even though many people believe that the law doesn’t work and underage teens drink illegally, the number of young people drinking has actually decreased.

The second article, “The Minimal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered,” presents convincing reasons why the drinking age should be changed back to eighteen. The first point made is that if one is old enough to enlist in the army at the age of eighteen, one should be able to consume alcohol. If an individual can put his or her life on the line, then they should be responsible for all of their actions. Another point made is that many minors drink alcohol despite the law. The article says that even though statistics show that the intake of alcohol in minors has decreased, those who choose to drink are drinking an excess amount. The fact that Europeans drink alcohol at younger ages and the advantages of this is brought up in this article. Growing up with alcohol reduces the dangerous intoxication incidences that seem to be frequently present in the United States. This is one point that I absolutely agree with and almost convinces me alone that the drinking age should be changed back to eighteen. The article also touches on how our education system incorporates classes regarding responsible drinking and the fact that our brain is still developing into our twenties, so whether the drinking age is eighteen or twenty-one doesn’t change the fact that it can still effect brain functions.

I think the second article, which is in favor of changing the drinking age back to eighteen, is more convincing. I believe this because the statistics posed and the facts presented seem to outweigh the responses from the first article. Each point made in the second article counters the arguments states in the first article and seem more valid and reasonable. After analyzing these articles, my opinion that the drinking age should be changed back to eighteen has stayed the same. I believe it should be changed back. The points that convince me the most are the laws in European countries and how much responsibility one is given when they turn eighteen besides being able to drink. Lowering the drinking age to eighteen would result in positive effects in American in my eyes.

Demonstration Speech Self-Evaluation

I think my demonstration speech went pretty well. I feel I did a pretty good job physically presenting my topic. I tried to be enthusiastic and energetic, but feel like I could improve on this for my next speech. I believe I spoke loud enough for everyone to hear and stood at a position in the front of the room so that everyone could clearly see my presentation and me. I think I used my visual aids in an effective way and made sure to show each part of my bone stimulator to the class. Usually, I tend to be a little nervous when speaking in front of a group of people. When I get nervous I begin speaking quicker, which makes it difficult for my audience to fully understand my message. Today, however, I believe I did a pretty good job speaking at a slow and steady pace. It is very important to keep eye contact with one’s audience while speaking in front of a group. I think for the most part I kept my eyes on my audience, but I feel as though I could have improved in this area by looking at my entire audience.

Throughout my speech, I believe I did well in trying to connect with my audience through incorporating them in my introduction. I also think I did a good job explaining my topic and its relevance to each individual in the class. I feel that the organization of my speech was well done and you could easily identify the five steps of how to use a bone stimulator.

I am very happy with my demonstration speech today and hope to improve my speaking skills for my next speech, especially focusing on constant eye contact with my audience and enthusiasm while speaking. 

Post 3: "Real" vs. "fake" food

As a child, my mom always told me I needed to eat more fruit. She constantly made sure I was having an adequate amount of fruit on my plate every meal. It was easy consuming this "real" fruit growing up because my parents paid for it, I had it prepared for me, and I was almost forced to eat it. Now, being a college student, my eating habits have definitely changed due to three main factors: cost, convenience, and lack of time.

As a college student, I find myself being forced to consume "fake" food. "Real" food costs a good amount more than "fake" good, and living on a college budget, I try saving my money by purchasing processed foods that are lower in cost. Living in the dorms, finding a grocery store to buy fresh "real" fruit is very inconvenient to me especially because for the past four and a half months I have been getting around on crutches. I also find myself short on time, and even to attempt to make it to a grocery store would be a struggle because I am an athlete and it is already hard balancing school and practice every day. For these three reasons, I have gone from eating fresh fruit to eating "fake" foods like pop tarts.

Pop tarts are said to contain real fruit. This fact is somewhat true, but not really. Pop tarts only contain about ten percent fruit. An article from the Washington Post titled, "Is That Right? Pop-Tarts are Made with Real Fruit?" explains why many individuals are mislead as to pop tarts containing a filling made up of "real" fruit. I agree with the content in this article mainly because I was one of those individuals who were mislead, and once I found out just what ingredients pop tarts contained, I wanted to cut back on my intake. Pop tarts look almost like a pastry, which is very pleasing to the eye. They taste much more sugary than regular fresh fruits and smell sweeter as well. I really enjoy eating pop tarts, but wouldn't choose to eat them on a daily basis anymore considering how bad they really are. This "fake" food doesn't provide you with the essential vitamins and nutrients that "real" fresh fruit contain and is not equivalent to eating real fruit. Pop tarts used to claim to be made with real fruit, but no longer go by this motto because of the false information it gave off.

After I am done with college and can afford to buy "real" food again, I will definitely be switching back to buying more fresh fruit. "Real" fruit is one hundred times better for you and is more refreshing than eating a pastry-like pop tart. When I am financially stable, living on my own, and have more time on my hands, I know for a fact I will return to eating the "real" version of fruit.

Peer Response to Mark's Blog Post 2

In this post, Mark discusses an issue regarding "real" versus "fake" food. He begins this blog by capturing his audience's attention by listening specific fruits he ate as a child growing up. After stating this personal information, he starts to explain Michael Pollan's theory on the Western Diet and how it affects many Americans' health. The article Mark attaches does a good job clarifying just how the Western Diet affects individuals' health and how it can cause heart attacks. Mark clarifies that his mother always had fresh fruit at home to eat on a daily basis. He admits that when he was a child he believed eating this fruit was just a simple treat, but now realizes his mom had a purpose for having fresh fruit in the kitchen. I agree with this statement because I feel the same way about my childhood. My parents always made sure I had my daily intake of fruit. I believed it was just refreshing and tasty, but in reality, my parents just wanted me to start eating healthy and get the right nutrition early on in my life.

Mark tells his readers that as he grew up he ran into the issues of cost, laziness, and timeliness. He explains that these issues affected what he chose to eat and how the issues related to the purchase of processed fruit. Mark says that he consumed his first "fake" cup of fruit in high school due to these issues. The "fake" fruit definitely smelled different to Mark, as well as the fact that it seemed more sugary, which made it taste sweeter than the fresh fruit he had consumed as a child. The positive aspects of eating this "fake" food is that there was no mess, your teeth wouldn't hurt if you happened to hit a pit, and there was no skin on the fruit. I also agree with the fact that "fake" foods can have many positives even though nutritionally they aren't as good for you.

To conclude, Mark states that "real" food is certainly the way to go because it is healthier and contains more nutrients. For now, Mark consumes "fake" food because he experiences the issues of cost and timeliness, being a college student. After college, he intends to switch back to "real" food. I have run into the same problems being a college student and will absolutely return to eating "real" food once I live on my own, am financially set, and have a little more time on my hands. Mark did a great job with his ideas. His thoughts were clear and concise and I really agreed with everything he had to say.

Peer Response to Kirby's Blog Post 1

Kirby begins her blog by capturing the audience's attention in introducing Michael Pollan's novel, "In Defense of Food." After introducing the title of the novel, she describes what the first section of the novel is made up of by touching on how he starts the book off with the quote, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Kirby then goes into explaining what Pollan believes regarding this topic. Pollan thinks that Americans need to start thinking about what we are putting into our bodies and connects to his readers through stories about his own childhood. He also touches on what the Western Diet is as well as what "nutritionism" is.

Kirby continues blogging about what exactly "nutritionism" is and what it means to Americans. She explains that she agrees with the fact that Americans are worrying too much about nutrients in the foods we eat and how foods are being processed to get the most for our money. I also agree with this statement. I believe that just adding synthesized nutrients to the foods we eat does not make it healthy. Kirby posts a link to a site that focuses on nutritionism and how it is ruining the diets of many Americans. I think this is a great site to incorporate into this particular blog because it goes into detail on a topic she covers in her blog. It helps the reader get a further understanding of nutritionism so that they too can come up with their own opinion on the topic.

To conclude her blog post, Kirby talks about the difference between margarine and butter and Pollan's view on this topic. After directly quoting information from the novel, Kirby adds a little spice of her own. She describes how she was raised on butter. Margarine, in her eyes, is seen as overrated and butter just tastes better. Again, I agree with this statement. It must be a Wisconsin thing, but I was also raised on butter and believe it tastes better than margarine.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Kirby's blog and agree with everything she had to say. I believe the arguments are clear and her opinions and ideas are very convincing. She does an excellent job introducing a topic and then giving her own personal opinions and ideas regarding the topics. Kirby's sentence structure flowed very nicely and the information presented kept my attention throughout the entire blog!