Kenny Chesney- Hemingway's Whiskey Album

In this particular review done by Stuart Munro of the Boston Globe, the author looks more at the feel of the music than the lyrics themselves. Rather than use detailed lines from the songs like the Lady Gaga pieces, Munro explains the two major themes of the album represented by the tracks: tropical calypso and nostalgic American. By blending masterful lyrics with soothing melodies, Kenny Chesney is able to draw these two typically unrelated themes together seamlessly. As the author very accurately explains in my opinion, what makes this albums so special is how it can reach out to so many people because its wide variety of songs. The songs below are excellent representations of how two songs on the same album could reach such totally different audiences, yet match so well together.

One part I disagreed with is where Munro said that Chesney's musical themes hadn't changed very much since 2002 simply because of a song he released titled "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem." While this song was certainly tropical in mind, it was a released single and can't be used to represent the transformations of his music through the years. I would have evaluated it on the same grounds; however, I probably would have injected a couple lines from the songs in order to show how their lyrics fitted his intended audience so well. I liked how he illustrated the variety of the album by comparing it to legends that most people would be familiar with, like his reference Tom Petty. The major reason that this album is so special in my opinion, which the author fails to mention, is the timing of the album's release. Released in September of 2010, the album was able to capture the waning memories of summer, while also referencing the tropical destinations of the south for those stuck in the frozen north. Outside of that, I believe Munro's review gave fair justice to an exceptional album.

Link to a Boston Globe Review:  http://www.boston.com/ae/music/cd_reviews/articles/2010/09/27/kenny_chesney_hemingways_whiskey/

Link to my two favorite tracks on album:
"Coastal" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxtnsQxfLSA
"The Boys of Fall" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlkPtjTJvFE

Definition Essay Proposal

1.) The word I am going to define is a new verb that is becoming popular among young people today, "to career."
2.) "career" the verb, as it is used today, means to do as well as you possibly could, or better than you ever had before. You can "career" anything: an exam, a girl, or a night of bowling. For example, "Man, I careered that exam. I have never gotten a 95 before!"
3.) The exigence for why I want to define this word is because when you think about it, there is no other verb that has the same meaning. The need to get this point across is very common, but there is no verb that fills the role
4.)  My purpose for writing this paper is to argue that "career" should be a verb in the English language today. I think that it is a technically sound, commonly-used verb that isn't "slang." As my paper will prove, the verb "career" would fill a void in the English language that currently exists in my opinion. Try to take the example phrase in the second point (a very common type of phrase) and replace "careered" with another verb. You can't, and therefore I want to make this new verb official.
5.) I will be writing mostly to older, traditionalist English proponents who would be opposed to a new, "hip" verb like "career" to be adopted into formal English language. I believe they would be the ones the most against a new change, so my goal will be to explain/argue to them why it should be included.

Blog #2- Geeks and the Supermarket Pastoral

         In his essay “Wake Up, Geek Culture. Time to Die” Patton Oswalt examines the words “geek,” “nerd,” and “otaku” to prove that while their definitions have not changed significantly over the years, they have an entirely different role in society today than ever before. Oswalt describes an “otaku,” “nerd,” or “geek” as someone who has an interest, and even obsession, with something that is completely unknown or unpopular to most people. He defines these terms, with numerous examples, to show how in today’s time everyone has interests that used to be called “nerdy.” However, these quirks in people today are so common that the term geek isn’t used to describe them like it used to. Oswalt illustrates his point by saying that in the 1980s he himself was considered a nerd, but today, even though his interests and personality haven’t changed greatly, he isn’t considered one. 

         In my opinion, I think he is totally off-base with his analysis of the geek over the past few decades. To me, being a geek or nerd has nothing to do with a secret obsession because we all have them, no matter how far back in history you go. Rather, it’s what your secret interest is. In the eighties most people were just as obsessed with popular, trivial details as they are today. The curveball is that those geeky habits of the past are now popular today, and the old ones have been simply been replaced. In the end, there are still “nerds” in today’s society, making his argument void.

          Supermarket Pastoral, in the author’s eyes, is a literary genre composed of the rhetoric used by marketers and advertisers of “organic” foods in supermarkets like Whole Foods. The sentences describing the foods and their paths to the shelves are eloquent and conjure images of wild produce raised on sprawling farms. This type of literature even has, “the hero (American Family Farmer), and the villain (Agribusinessman.”) Pollan explains that this genre is utilized to steer the consumer into believing their higher prices are being used to ensure the happiness and freedom of animals everywhere.

         Pollan is talking about Supermarket Pastoral not because it really intrigues him how groceries market their foods, but because of what it represents. The literature used by Whole Foods is what sells the product, not the product itself. People cannot see the farms, or animals, or conditions in which they live. However the words, tone, pathos, and glowing definitions, are all used to illustrate a magical dream farm in the consumers’ minds. This is important to the piece because as the author continues to explain, what the store is depicting, and what is really happening, are two very different things. Rather than raised on beautiful local farms, the produce is mass-generated on “industrial farms,” the same industrial farms that organic food was supposed to stop. However, the brilliant descriptions and lovely posters triumph over the farce that is organic foods and go on to create another multi-billion dollar industry.