TA: Coherence Practice

My mother has a unique blend being very devoted to her children and still remaining fiercely independent. When I was a freshman in high school, I was too young to drive, and I lived too far from my most of my friends to be able to visit them on foot. I realized that I was going to need something to occupy my time during the summer, so I bought a skateboard. Occasionally, I would ride my bike into town to the local skate park and skate for hours on end. I didn’t really seem to fit in with the other skaters who constantly smoked and had new tattoos every other week, but I still loved to skate. I’m still not sure how they afforded tattoos at that age. The bike ride was a little further than I cared to go and it wasn’t on a very safe road, so every now and then my mom would help me out by volunteering to drive me to the skate park. The great thing about this was not that she would drive me, but that she would sit there while I skated and quilt. She loves to quilt. I was not ashamed to admit that I was the only kid at the skate park whose mom was not just at the park, but was quilting. My mother has always been very good at retaining her independence while still involving herself in the lives of her children.

RA: A grotesque old woman

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/largeImage?workNumber=NG5769&collectionPublisherSection=work

"A Grotesque Old Woman"
What are the consequences of extreme materialistic attitudes on old women?
The enthymeme: Extreme materialistic attitudes degrade old women because extreme materialistic attitudes cause old women to unnecessarily embellish.
The audience being addressed in this picture was the upper class. More specifically, those who attempt to use wealth and materialistic things to make themselves seem more desirable. The assumption is that anything that causes women to over embellish degrades them. The argument is that extreme materialistic attitudes cause old women to over embellish.
The picture is believed to have come from an original drawing by Leonardo Di Vinci. His name alone draws people to his work and to think about the messages he presents. This picture is interesting because he uses some humor to illustrate his point. Rather than use an actual individual to make his statement, he over emphasizes that which he is saying. This can both ease the impact of the his message, as well make it a bit more cutting. People can laugh it off if they don't wish to accept it's implications regarding materialism, or they can take responsibility for it. The picture is so unattractive that it draws viewers into it, which makes them think about it.
The nature of the picture makes it plenty sufficient. The person is so very old and so very ugly that there is no chance the point of the picture would be missed. This painting is both typical and atypical at the same time. During the era in which this piece of art was made, many high class individuals commissioned painter to paint glamorized portraits, and this is using that same medium to make a mockery. Whether the message that overly materialistic upper class people embellished too much is true or not, I'm not sure. I'm not an expert of this time period, but when it was painted, I would say that it was relevant because the extreme class distinctions that were prevalent.

FW: Haircut

I’m going to be missing class tomorrow (Monday the 24^th), but it’s for a good cause. I have an interview in Arizona early Tuesday morning and I have to be at the airport when class is scheduled. But I’ll do my best to catch up.

In preparing for this interview I realized that I’m one ugly mofo. I looked into the mirror earlier this evening and had that revelation. Needless to say I can go walking into a medical school looking like an idiot. I need to have the power of persuasion and intimidation on my side. So I went around my apartment complex looking for someone to give me a little bit of a haircut….well, not so much a cut as a trim. I found my neighbor who said he would be up to the task. I asked him to just take a little bit off and trim it up so that it was clean looking. He took the clippers and started going straight over the top! It was considerably shorter than I had anticipated. I think it makes me look a little manlier, but it’s hard to say for sure. I’m going to need an outsider’s opinion on this one. In the meantime I’ll be interviewing to the best of my ability without my beautiful blond locks.

Free Write Post

I think it is necessary for me to voice a few of my observations concerning church callings I’ve seen given at BYU.

I was once assigned the calling of FHE “dad.” This was a slap in the face. Here I was given a calling to be a “Dad” for a Family Home Evening group in a ward in which no families exist. My calling shouldn’t even have existed! By definition you can’t have family home evenings without families. It’s impossible. It would be much better to proclaim Monday night a date night. This would do much more for the propagation of families than holding a fictional FHE. There should be a standing ward activity every Monday night for those individuals who couldn’t get a date, and everyone else should date freely. If you’re in a slump and haven’t been on a date in a while, ask someone out from your ward activity on Monday night.

There are many callings that bishops make up in order to give some sort of calling to those in attendance in their ward. They are now few. I have some real examples: the Physical Facilities Chair-Person, whose sole responsibility was to set up chairs for church, or the Public Relations Committee, which I never saw perform any act of service or duty. My roommate was a Home Teaching Supervisor for 2 years. He was very good with this calling. He collected reports from the home-teachers, and would asking meaningful questions relative to individuals being home-taught in the ward. He motivated and inspired. However, his career came to an abrupt halt when the Stake President decided that it was not part of church policy to have someone in a calling such as his. His calling was immediately abolished. Of all the callings to abolish in the church, this was one that was helpful. Apparently his past two years of service in that calling were not in accordance with church policy. I think he still has to pay back the blessings that he wrongfully received for his service.