Monday, March 15, 2010

Interview

Dmitri Zaderetsky
Yerks
Composition 106 Section 19
10 March 2010
Profile Paper
For my interview I chose a friend who was in a local band, which has extensive knowledge of music. His name is Kars Peterson, he is eighteen years of age, and has a very unique personality. We both agreed upon meeting in a cafĂ© for some coffee while participating in this interview, and he was glad to help. He stands at a solid five feet, eleven inches, sporting an athletic body type. His current hair is cut very short and is a light shade of brown. He chooses to alternate between wearing contacts and thick, black-rimmed glasses. His clothing style is made up of band t-shirts, and tight woman’s jeans; a very interesting fact is that he does not own any pants made for males.
He is a very fit individual physically, but that only makes up part of an individual, his psyche is important as well. In response to several questions, I have been able to find out that he has grown up in the city of Livonia, located in Michigan. He has one younger sibling, which is a sister the age of sixteen. While growing up he did not get along with her, but now that he is getting ready to set off for college, he regrets never settling his differences, and is now trying to make up for the time lost. His father is a police officer for Detroit that has recently retired, and now he tends to share his stories of being on duty to Kars and his friends. Their family attends a Christian church every Sunday, which shows a true commitment. He is finishing the last year of High School this June, and plans to further his education at Michigan Tech, although the current career remains undecided. Currently, he works at Kroger’s, enjoys swimming competitively, playing videogames, and most of all, music.
The musician Kars has talent in playing piano, guitar, and his favorite instrument, the electric bass. He has been playing bass for almost five years now, and plans to continue playing no matter where life takes him. He was in a local band called Cita’s Wings, which played heavy metal music mixed with a vocal style similar to Metallica. Their group played at several different venues around the Livonia area, including some as far as East Lansing. He explained that the group came together when word around school was that they were looking for a talented bassist, which he was more than glad to fill the position. The music he listens to ranges from Ska, with bands such as Streetlight Manifesto, to techno such as Angerfist, and all the way to heavy metal, a group he is particularly fond of is Between the Buried and Me. Kars claims it is very important for people to listen to as many different styles as possible, because it widens their view and ideas for music. His band released one CD, and was working on a second one, but after several months of practice and hard work, it became evident that Kars and the drummer had far too many things to focus on such as school, work, and sports, that there was not enough time for Cita’s Wings. There are many fond memories he shares with his band mates, and “would love to get back up on that stage to blast some funky beats”, but for now there are more important things he must do. Kars believes he will find a band to play with on campus, and even though they might not become famous, he still loves the thrill of playing live and writing music.
When asked about his views on piracy of music, he responded that it is wrong to steal music, but it is so common in today’s life, that it’s becoming the main way people find new bands to listen to, and thus is important. In his opinion, once people begin downloading a band’s albums, the music is being heard more often, and begins to spread throughout the world, until the group is noticed and given a big break to truly let their voices be heard. It’s not easy selling CD’s for a local band that few people has heard about, he says live shows provide the crowd with a taste of what the group is working toward, but with a lack of high end equipment and a studio, the process is very hard.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Pictures of my interviewed individual


Kars smiling next to a wall

This is Kars in action during a show at the Token Lounge
Kars standing

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Reader]

Skeptics May Object
1. This war on drugs cannot be taken lightly, but some readers might question that it is the people’s right to consume alcohol, for it is legal, along with other pharmaceutical drugs being abused. This is a viable statement, but exactly why we need to do something about it. People all around the United States, and the world are becoming prone to addiction to such substances, alcoholism leading to drunk driving, and pills leading to overdose, causing death. This is a serious matter, and so far the efforts our government has put forth are not enough to contain this

2. My latest essay that I have written was titled The Healthy Choice, which argued for the fact that vegetarians can indeed acquire all the nutrients from vegetables, without having to consume meat products. In it I have anticipated the objection that vegetarians are deficient in certain categories of vitamins such as B12, which will cause problems in the body, but can easily be solved with supplements or eating vegetables rich in those minerals. I have not anticipated all likely objections, but I have answered the most common one. I have represented the objection fairly, because I stated all the problems and effects of the deficiency, but answered them in a manner which suffices all objections. The language introduced in this chapter would have been helpful, but the words I used were very similar. The introduction of a naysayer is a very important way to strengthen an argument, because the writer is clearly acknowledging objections that he is aware of, and at the same time answering them to make his work stronger.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Reader's Response #1

Chapter 2, Exercise 1:
The belief of Christianity is based upon a gathering of surrounding religions and regions during its time period such as Islam, Judaism, and even Egyptian culture. One might say that a religion based on other ideas cannot be real, because there is no original thought for it. This religion has transformed over the years, and many branches have been formed. It has undergone a great deal of growth and persecution, and studying the progress shows a lot of change in a region. Additionally the conversion to this drastic idea when it first started out seemed ridiculous, but now it is one of the most commonly practiced beliefs in the world.

The religion known as Christianity has evolved greatly since it first started out, increasing its number of followers exponentially. The years have taken a toll on the religion, for it has changed and split into several different sects, showing a lack of a standard point that everyone can agree upon. The followers have been peaceful, promoting health, positive life ethics, and overall helping those in need. The world has become a better place due to its spread, but at the same time has lost a serious amount of people during The Crusades, where violence was the answer in a so called Holy War. This belief has become less violent, and more widespread since those days.

Exercise 2:
The writer David Zinczenko claims the people are not to blame for obesity; it is the fast-food restaurants, which is clearly not true. The individual is the one who has the money and choice between what they will consume, and there is nothing stopping them from going to a local Meijer or Wal-Mart to buy soup or fresh vegetables. The fast-food is widely advertised, but a healthy substitute is very existent and obtainable for the average customer.

Being overweight has been proven to be a genuine medical problem rather than a problem of cultural stereotypes. In Zinczenko’s work, he shows how the amount of type 2 diabetes, caused by obesity, has sky-rocketed by 25%. This is clearly a medical issue that cannot be overlooked, and should not be ridiculed. The cultural stereotype is evident in today’s world, which is simply another reason why we should work together as a nation to expel obesity.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Screenshot

When I saw my screen as a photograph I thought about how my screen usual looks. Most of the time there are about seven windows of internet explorers and music playing. I had to use the on-screen keyboard because mine could not do the print screen method for reasons I am unaware of.

While composing in digital spaces, the ideas changes shape greatly. In the digital space I am able to access the internet for assistance in things such as citations and information. The ability to change font and size is also very convenient, for the professor is able to clearly read what the student is trying to say, unlike other cases where in written work the handwriting is illegible. The amount of distractions increase in the digital spaces, because the student is not confined to a desk with only paper and pen, the computer itself hold many tools and applications. The distraction factor does rely on the students self control, but in most cases we fall victim to procrastination.

We can better understand the digital composing processes by simply attempting them ourselves. The different types of digital opportunities such as forums, Facebook and blogs allow the public to experience a variety of writing styles. Some of these methods have a limit to how much can written such as forums, while blogs allow unlimited space for the writer’s complete thoughts.