Coconut Oil Advertisement

This visual is an add for a coconut base shampoo whose medium or means of transmission was a magazine. The add contains multiple modes such as a text description of the product, a picture of the product, and a picture of a woman with long, luscious, beautiful hair combing it out, presumably after using the shampoo showing that if you use the shampoo your hair can also look long, luscious, and beautiful. In the picture of the woman the use of bright red hair against a lighter colored woman and background help put the emphasis on the hair even more. Also the use of the bright yellow color on the shampoo bottle helps catch the eye and make it more memorable to the reader. The add also contains a short description of the shampoo and its uses. As the writing is hard to read I have included it below for easier reading:

"Proper Shampooing is what makes beautiful hair. It brings out all the real life, natural wave and color, and makes it soft, fresh and luxuriant.

Your hair simply needs frequent and regular washing to keep it beautiful, but it cannot stand the harsh effects of ordinary soap. The free alkali, in ordinary soaps, soon dries the scalp, makes the hair brittle and ruins it. This is why discriminating women use

Watkins Mulsified Cocoanut Oil for Shampooing

This clear, pure and entirely greaseless product cannot possibly injure, and does not dry the scalp or make the hair brittle, no matter how often you use it.

Two or three teaspoonfuls will cleanse the hair and scalp thoroughly. Simply moisten the hair with water and rub it in. It makes an abundance of rich, creamy leather, which rinses out easily, removing every particle of dust, dirt, dandruff and excess oil. The hair dries quickly and evenly, and has the appearance of being much thicker and heavier than it is. It leaves the scalp soft and the hair fine and silky, bright, fresh-looking and fluffy, wavy and easy to do up. You can get Watkins Mulsified Cocoanut Oil at any drug store. A 4-ounce bottle should last for months.

Splendid for children."

The text was written in a professional font so as to come across as a serious consideration for a woman's shampoo. Yet the text also contains a large, yellow text of the name of the product to make it pop out at the reader even more. Through these modes the add should have a pretty good chance of convincing readers to buy and use their product

Coconut Oil

Having to pick what to research for this paper was a little tricky but I decided to research on coconut oil for two reasons. Some may not know this but coconut oil is a saturated fat and as I'm sure you do know we have always been told that those are bad for you, particularly when you consume it. So reason number one is that my father is a very strong advocate for coconut oil and its saturated properties and for the last five years I have been privileged to a lot of interesting facts about everything that coconut oil can do and how saturated fats have actually been proven to be beneficial for us to consume. He was/is kinda like the dad out of My Big Fat Greek Wedding that is a very strong believer in Windex... And two is, I myself have currently started using coconut oil on a day to day basis and have notice some of the changes it has made, such as making my teeth whiter and less sensitive when I combine it with my toothpaste or making my skin a lot smoother since I use it as a moisturizer, and I would like to find out more about other beneficial uses for coconut oil.  

I have been able to find a lot on the internet that discusses coconut oil but one article that stuck out to me talks about using coconut oil in your cooking. It goes into greater detail why, as a saturated fat it is still healthy, sometimes even healthier, for us to use on a daily basis because "it's a type of saturated fat called MCT-medium chain triglycerides-that the body likes to use for energy, rather than store as fat." The article also discusses many ways to incorporate the oil into your cooking, such as substituting it for butter in baking and using it for sautéing vegetables instead of other oils. I believe this article to be scholarly mainly for two reasons, it was written by a Mr. Jonny Bowden, P.h.D. and it was published in a health journal, Healthy Solutions. The article is not very long but it does contain academic diction for a more learned audience.     

Watch What You Say...

In today's culture we have to be careful of what comes out of our mouths so as not to offend anyone that may or may not be standing near us. I don't think be overly cautious of what you say is a bad thing. But what if your fear of offending someone is keeping you from saying what is really on your mind?

For a country that proudly boast freedom of speech we sure do have to curb saying what we really believe a whole lot. And now there is even a term for not saying anything that upsets or offends anyone, political correctness. I think, as a country, we are sick of this "political correctness." I think this is why we love comedians so much, because people with the title "comedian" have a free pass to say what they really think and piss people off. As an audience we find it scandalizing and hilarious to hear someone finally say what everyone else in the room is thinking. Comedians like Jeff Dunham, Gabriel Iglesias, and Jeff Foxworthy have made us all laugh at their crude remarks and crass statements, while at the same time not worrying whether or not it is offending the person sitting next to us.

I'll admit, I have kept my mouth shut or said "political correct" things on a lot of occasions so as to avoid confrontation or upsetting anyone. Sometimes it has been a good thing, no need to invite or make trouble where there is none, but, other times I find myself wishing I had spoken my mind. Why is it that others get to offend me by trying to push their beliefs and views on me and I should stay quiet about my beliefs out of fear of upsetting them in turn? That just doesn't sound or feel right to me. What do you think? Do you think many of us should continue on silently or do you think it is time to respond and voice our opinions? I can tell you that right now I myself am leaning towards the latter...

In accordance to Easter occurring this weekend I want to address our culture and how it has changed in handling and celebrating it.

In the past there was a large focus on the religious aspect of the holiday and less on the "Easter Bunny" and his gift of candy and eggs. Families attended church services on both Good Friday and Easter Sunday. There was a large emphasis on the Lord and His sacrifice in sending His Son Jesus to die for us, even in the schools. Yet the tradition of the colorful Easter eggs also began with the Christians. The egg represents the tomb in which Christ was buried in and how, just like birds are born from their eggs, Christ was born again and rose from the grave. So in the past, even the use of the Easter eggs had a spiritual use, probably to help teach and model to the young children the miracle that is Easter.

But today it is a very different story. Sure, we all know that we should go to church but I think that is more out of the fact that that is what is socially acceptable, not because of the true reason. Now-a-days we teach our kids that the reason they should look forward is because the Easter Bunny is going to visit them and leave gifts of candy and toys. We see commercials and ads that advertise the candy and sales due to the holiday. They tell us that if we buy their clothing or toys we are celebrating Easter in the right way, but I just don't agree. Sure there is nothing wrong with eating a little candy and buying a pretty dress in celebration but in all of this we are forgetting the true reason for the holiday, that it acts as a reminder of what Jesus did for us so many years ago. As a culture and nation we are growing further and further from God.

As a result of this separation from God I feel that our culture is becoming a more sinful and shocking one. We have men murdering multiple innocent children, a more liberal government allowing pretty much anything to happen in this country because of not wanting to "offend" anyone, our military is being treated with less and less respect for what they do for us in this country by fighting to protect our freedom and rights with their lives, and so much more. I know that probably isn't going to be a very popular or liked post by some of you who read this but that is what this blog is for right? Saying what we think. So what do you think? Do you think our country needs to find its' way back to the Lord? Become "One nation under God" again?

In response to question 3...

           All throughout our lives we are told to be true to ourselves, that if we are we can become whoever we want to be. We’ve been told from day one that anything is possible if we do this. Yet, this is not entirely true. 
 
We go through our education being taught certain ways to read, write, and even how to do math. And we all know that if we don’t do it the way the teachers have taught us on tests or homework assignments we don’t get credit for the work. This right here is a big example of how they offset what they originally tell us. How can we be who we want when we can’t even do math homework or analyze a paragraph in an essay the way we think we should? As long as the outcome is the same I don’t see the harm in not doing things “the teacher’s way.”
 
One of the biggest examples of this that I can think of is from my junior year high school English course. We were reading a lot of literature about African Americans and their struggles of slavery and civil rights and subsequently writing essays in response to them. I didn’t always agree with what was said in those essays yet I knew I could never write my true opinion in those essays because first off, I wouldn’t get the best of grades on the essays, and secondly and probably more importantly, it could have offended some people in the class. Just like Lu, I had a conflict between two points of views that I wanted to write but could only choose one of the “voices.”
 
So yes, we are told we have freedom to write and say what we want and to be true to ourselves. Yet, in this country, especially now a-days, we are having to be more and more careful with what we say and write because we might offend someone in the process. In order to resolve this struggle, sadly, this most of the times means we just don’t say what is really on our minds. Now I ask you, is that really freedom to be our true self?
 
 
 

Talking about urban legends and literacy narratives in class recently has made me start to think about my childhood and the stories that my parents told me. They chose to steer clear of the scary, intimidating stories and lean towards stories that were more suited for a child’s sensitive nature.

As a kid I guess you could say my mother told me her narrative throughout the years. Having grown up in Mexico and then come to the United States with her family of ten at age 12, it seemed she always had a story to help prove or get her point across. If I didn’t want to make my bed or do the dishes she would respond with, “By the time I was six years old I was taking care of two babies, making sure all of the beds were made, the house swept, and dinner was on the stove, all before your grandmother came home.” Yeah, she made being lazy really difficult.

Other stories my parents told us were Bible stories and of course, fairy tales. You know, Jonah and the Big Fish, Ruth and Esther's stories, the stories of Jesus and His life, all the classic fairy tales and Disney stories. And looking back I am glad they did. Learning about legends and narratives it’s remarkable to see how they were teaching us through these stories and fairy tales. Lessons of morals or how we should act or how to dream, and all through story time every night or morning.  What about you? What were some of the lessons you learned from story time with your parents?

 

 

Always Available

So I know that lately we have been talking about all the bad things about our culture, with all of its new and improved technology and self-involved people, and how we hope it doesn't get worse. Well I think it is about time to address some of the perks of this new age. 

We live in an age of accessibility. We have anything we could ever need practically at the end of our fingertips, 24/7, especially now with smart phones. If we need to talk to someone we can just call them up, even if we are just riding the bus or at the grocery store. If we need an address or a phone number we can just hop over to the computer and search the Internet, forgoing the tedious process of looking them up in phonebooks. If we have missed or don’t have time for our favorite television shows we can just find them on the internet, such as on the website Hulu, and watch them at our convenience. So I know that lately we have been talking about all the bad things about our culture, with all of its new and improved technology and self-involved people, and how we hope it doesn't get worse. Well I think it is about time to address some of the perks of this new age. 

This is all amazing to experience and be apart of. Hardly ever being put out of my way because of needing something and not being able to acquire it is very nice. Yet, this can have its downside as well. All of this availability can lead to a society dependent on technology too much. I just hope we never have to find out what would happen if technology just disappeared one day because I don’t think it would be very pretty.