Author: todayistheday19

Proposal +5 –todayistheday

Proposal : It seems counterintuitive to trust a company with blood on their hands. SeaWorld continues to claim their mission is to help animals by providing a safe environment for them to live. They repress the fact that they rip these animals away from their natural habitats. SeaWorld is the ultimate hypocrite; they state they’re saving these animals when in reality they’re imprisoning them for their own gain.  For a company who publicly dedicates them to animal rights but behind closed doors they have no problem shoving their prisoners back into their cells. For a company so open and adamant about giving their animals the best care and love, they are silent when their whales die unnaturally.

Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World of Slave Trade https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=fHtvU_6EC9EC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=slaves&ots=2uRLzmvPcv&sig=jGXpHVF0SRBk0hGcKZew5rAsX-k#v=onepage&q=slaves&f=false

Essential Content of Article:  Slaves for the most part believed they were inferior and that their lives were meant to work for the white man.  Slaves either obey or die.  Africans were ripped away from their home country and sold off to whites so they could work until they died in this foreign land.

What it proves: This article is going to help connect similarities between African slaves and animals within SeaWorld parks.  They are ripped away from their natural habitat only to forced into working for their masters. Neither animals in SeaWorld parks or slaves have/had any hope of freedom.

 

What will the future bring? Prison mental health care in England http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=c6ff13f6-822d-4f87-ac10-67b21358404c%40sessionmgr4008

 

Essential Content of Article: This article gives statistics of inmate’s mental health condition within England’s prison system. The estimate that the proportion of people with mental health problems within in prisons is 90%.

What it proves: This article is going to help me connect SeaWorld’s animals to inmates.  Both are confined to small areas for most of the day. This article takes a look at what being confined within concrete walls can do to the human brain.  Seeing such a high risk of mental health and suicide rates with human inmates, it can allow me to question what it must do to the animal prisoners at SeaWorld.

Kidnapping and Mental Health in Iraqi Refugees: The Role of Resilience https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/article/10.1007%2Fs10903-015-0340-8

Essential Content of Article: This is a study conducted to observe the presence of Post traumatic stress disorder and major depression disorder with kidnapping victims.  The study conducts the experiment on Iraqi refugees, especially those who had been kidnapped.  Results indicated those diagnosed with PTSD were more likely to have been kidnapped.

What it proves: This article gives me evidence to prove kidnapping indicates a higher likelihood to develop PSTD.  I will explain PTSD and its symptoms.  Then I will discuss this study.  This will allow me to describe how orcas were taken from the wild.  Orcas usually stay with their family their whole lives.  But when they’re kidnapped they suffer greatly at the expense of entertainment.

Breaking News: The last generation of orcas at SeaWorld https://seaworldcares.com/2016/03/Breaking-News-The-Last-Generation-of-Orcas-at-SeaWorld/

Essential Content of Article: SeaWorld states they will not release the remaining orcas, because they would not be able to handle the elements and dangers of the wild.  They then state that the orcas will remain in the love and care of SeaWorld.

What it proves: By collecting a statement from SeaWorld that disagrees with my claim it will help me further prove my point. Even though SeaWorld hasn’t collected an orca from the wild in 40 years they are still reaping the benefits of those captured orcas.  They deny the request to free orcas into the wild because of the dangers of elements they aren’t accustomed too.

FOLLOW WITH THIS ARTICLE

Jean-Michel Cousteau: SeaWorld should set captive orcas free https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/27/seaworld-free-captive-orcas-jean-michel-cousteau

Essential Content of Article: An oceanographer believes orcas can be successively reintroduced into their wild habitat.   By using seaside sanctuaries captive orcas can be adjusted to hunting for food and learning the techniques of wild orcas.

What it proves: This article, although it agrees with my opinion, does not echo my thesis.  It is going to be used as facts to dispute the SeaWorld claim that orcas cannot safely be released to the wild.  This scientifically proves that seaside sanctuaries could be the answer to releasing the orcas.

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Visual Rewrite–todayistheday

0:00 In this freeze frame, we are outside in the middle of the day. We are at a gas station; a gas pump takes over most of the screen. The dusty sepia landscape we are presented with shows the quality is overexposed and washed out, giving the impression that it was made decades ago, pushing us to believe this takes place in an earlier time. There is a sense this was during the 1980s.

The gas pump is older looking. Instead of digital numbers indicating price it has analog numbers. This gas pump doesn’t feature that allows credit card payment. In our line of site the gas pumps are labeled 3 and 4.  We assume there is also pumps 1 and 2, we register that this must be a smaller scale gas station.

The scene is cast in daylight and by the way the shadows are cast it seems to be midday.  A seemingly empty gas station in the daylight is much different than during the night time.  Night time, casts everything in darkness giving it a dangerous or potentially threatening vibe.

The space is very dull and unkept.  The pavement has several cracks scattered about.  The surrounding area offers no greenery or landscaping.   The dull coloring and the plain area hint this may be a  depressed neighborhood. The houses in the distance are small and tidy enough.  Middle class ranchers with small fading patches of grass for lawn.

An old-model sedan enters the scene. The car pulls up in front of a brown brick building. A payphone is prominent against the wall. There haven’t been pay phones at gas stations since the 80s. Within the first second of the video we get a strong sense this video is dated to the 1980s for a reason.

0:02- The bright blue of the payphone is hard to ignore.  The older sedan is brown and seems to blend in with the brown brick of the building as it parks in front of the building. The rest of the surrounding seem to blend in with the dull.  But amongst it all is the bright blue pay phone. It draws you to the center of the screen.

0:03- Two teenage girls enter the picture. They come into the frame jogging up to the phone.  They are pretty and young but the hair and fashion of their outfits screams 80’s. One girl who steps out of the driver side is wearing pale high rise jeans and a white shirt. Her hair is teased and volumized.  Her friend is wearing a long sleeve black sweatshirt paired with patterned tights underneath green athletic shorts.  She is holding something in her hand and has sunglasses on. The black and white contrast of the girls outfits makes the connection to black and white.  Right and wrong.  But the coloring of the scene is neither black nor white.  The background that surrounds the two girls is a wooded area.  They may be from somewhere in the suburbs, a small town that hugs the wood line.

0:04- The girl in the white grabs the payphone and turn toward the other girl.  The girl in the white out stretches her hand toward the other girl.  The girl looks to be holding a wallet in her hand but its too blurry to tell.  The girl reaching out her hand seems to be the dominant one. She doesn’t need to say anything to get what she wants; all that’s needed is a simple hand motion. She isn’t asking, she’s stating. The other girl already has the change ready for her.  That seems to indicate that they’ve done this before.  Or it could mean that the girls are close enough to be on the same page.

0:05- The girl and the payphoen become the only focus.  She is reaching for the phone, her face is calm.  In her white shirt and hair blowing back gently, she seems very innocent.  She has makeup on, her eyeshadow and her lip are bold enough to be noticed but still seem casual.  A sign is in the background behind her.  It seems to be a football scoreboard or a tall sign of some sort.  Beyond that there is a sparse tree line, houses are seen through the trees. The faded printing of PHONE on the booth is just above the girls forehead. The sense that this was dated to 1980 for a reason becomes true.  It portrays two friends who need to get in touch with someone before they continue on their way.  In order to contact someone a long distance away, they would need to phone someone on a payphone.  Today, we can call, text, facetime, snapchat and direct message.  The options seem endless but in 1980 if you had to get in touch with someone right away, you better use the nearest payphone available.

0:06- Girl’s fingers begin dialing a number. She dials the number with no hesitation, she knows this number well.   Her nail polish is white and slightly chipped and dirty.  Above the numbers there is a sticker with SAVE in all bold letters. The words below SAVE are illegible.  Above the dialing center is instructions on how to work the phone.  Upon closer inspection, you can see the phone booth is dirty and has been used frequently.  The phones cord outstretches and cuts out of frame. But the way it is portrayed it seems to go straight into the girls form.

0:08- The girl in white moves to bring the phone to her ear. While her friend stands by with her hand on her hip, peering over her sunglasses. The sign behind her looks to be a scoreboard or the posted gas prices.

0:09- The girl in white looks upward as she moves to bring the phone to her ear.  Her friend besides her remains blank faced as she waits beside her.  The girls seem annoyed either with each other or the person they are calling.

0:10- The girl switches the phone to her left hand, as she lazily leans against the booth.  Her friend waits by with her hand on hip.  When the girl switches the phone to her left hand we are able to notice the hair tie on her wrist.  Her white hair tie is snug against her wrist as she holds the phone.  We can relate the hair tie to a handcuff as if shackled to the phone.

0:11- The girl in white rolls her eyes as her mouth remains in a straight line. The girl besides her now only has one hand on her hip.  Her face is stone cold with boredom. The girls look annoyed, as they continue to progress in phone call.  It’s as if they have more important things to be focusing on and that this is simply an inconvenience.   The phone is finally pressed against her ear.  Wind blows the one girls hair back.

0:14- The girl in white flounces towards driver’s side of car with a bounce in her step. From the beginning of the video, you could tell she was the one in charge, it makes sense she is the driver.  While her friend is merely there for the ride through out it all.  The girl’s hands are empty as she continues to stride toward the door. She seems to have forgotten about the annoyance caused by her phone call.

0:15- The front side of the car is the main shot. In the background, you can see the girl in white approaching the driver’s side. The grass is overgrown in some places. Trees and farm land are very distant in background. Telephone in the back looks like a cross with the sky surrounding it.

0:16- Background stays the same; the woods and the telephone pole still in view.  The car color changes. Interior leather seats.  The girls form can be seen through window. She is holding something in her hand. The color quality seems cooler and blue compared to the previous warm sepia.

0:17- The girl’s hand is not empty, she holds a phone in her hand.  The door is open.  The make and model of the car is unimportant, the brand cannot be seen on the steering wheel. The car is newer and seems to be more expensive, the seats are clean and tan. The interior is slick and black, very modern.  The radio looks to be touch screen and the panel of the car seems to have money options for settings.  This girl is alone.  You can tell because she doesn’t seem to have any interest in the passenger seat. Her interest is focused on her phone, indicating her friend is whoever she is texting. Her friend doesn’t have to be present in person to communicate with the girl. From the modern sleekness of the car and the touchscreen display of the phone we can guess this scene takes place around 2015.

0:18- The girl is wearing black ripped jeans and a black hoodie.  Phone still in hand as she begins to step into her car. This appeals to the previous mention of clothing color in the other two girls. Dark clothing hints that something dark or bad is about to happen.    The main girl, the driver, was wearing a white top and pale jeans. This girl in light colors made a phone call from a payphone. This current girl is wearing the opposite, decked out in dark clothes. She has no need for a payphone, since she holds a much more convenient version of it in her hand.

0:19- The girl gets into the car and is seated. Her arm is reached to shut the door.  From this point of view, you can tell it’s the same girl in white from earlier.  But it is obviously a different time period due to the condition of the car, technology in hand and clothes being worn.   The car is all black except for the tan seats.  The sun is shining in from the window. She is wearing a tan hat with her hair pulled back.  She has her ears pierced and has her cellphone in her hand. Even as she is reaching to close her car door her eyes never leave her phone screen.

0:20- The camera view is low to the ground as if placed on road behind the front left tire. Before all the camera angles were from a less invasive distance as if the camera was just a bystander. This time the camera seems to be apart of the car, moving all the road as the car does. The black car the girl is driving starts to drift slightly over the yellow line. A car can be seen in the distance on the other side of the road. Greenery lines the road toward the left, and on the right side in the distance telephone poles can be seen.

0:21- the camera point of view switches as if looking over the girl’s shoulder. Black interior of car with black clothing draws your eyes toward white screen of phone. Text convo can be seen but words can’t be deciphered.  But her head is angled to the side, looking at the phone. She has the AC on but not high; she is also wearing a light hoodie with jeans. It is most likely in the middle of a nice sunny day. Her thumb is hovering over keyboard.  She has two unanswered texts on screen, she is two sentences into her reply.

0:22- The camera point of view is low to ground again. The girl’s car is now well over the yellow line. Heading straight toward the van on the opposite side of the road.  You can assume this point of view is from the front of the girl’s car because you can’t see any part of the car. The greenery has thinned and telephone poles line the side of the road. The pavement is uneven and cracking slightly down the center of the lane. The van on the other side of the road is now only a few feet away.  The angle of the car is heading straight into them.  It is a dark colored minivan in the crossfire.

Stone Money Rewrite–todayistheday

P1. Currency is a crinkled piece of paper and a hefty limestone rock. Currency is whatever we want it to be. The definition of currency depends on an individual’s belief and culture. As Americans, we are raised around the mindset that the paper in your wallet and the number on a ATM slip make your worth. While others across the globe could hold the standard of wealth to the greatness of your limestone. Our currency is controlled by people who decide on the importance of said currency. Increase, decrease, demand and value are all set in place.

P2. As we learn in, “Island of Stone Money” by Milton Friedman, a small island made of five to six thousand people base their wealth on a large limestone rock in their possession.  Yaps are pre-industrial people who used massive stone sculptures as currency, known as fei. They collected this limestone from an island several hundreds of miles away.  Fleets of boats were sent to travel the distance, across dangerous water, just to seek the limestone. Once found, they began to work on shaping the large stone.  After this task was completed they heaved the heavy stones into the boats to bring back to their homeland. The ownership and possession of the stone was known amongst the people even though the stone never moved from its resting place outside. These giant stones were never exchanged between hands; simple acknowledgement of ownership was all that was warranted. The Yaps knew which families were in possession of which stones. Although, one wealthy family had no stone in sight the Yaps were sure of its existence. While the men were bringing back stones, there was a storm in which the stone went overboard and sank to the bottom of the ocean.  When the men told the people back home of the lost stone they were unwavering in their trust that the stone was out there. The stone in the ocean was possessed by a family who had never seen the stone along with all the other villagers. The importance was unquestioned. The men who ventured on this journey to bring back the stone determined the source of currency.  Just like the Yaps the American system has certain men who determine our currency.

P3.  The Federal Reserve is not a part of the government, although federal is in its title, and they do not look to the government for any decisions.  “Invention of Money” discusses in detail, how the Federal Reserve can create currency out of nothing. It can whip up pieces of paper and small coins within moments.  These items make the world go around. Paper and chips of metal are what people spend their whole lives working for; yet the Federal Reserve can produce it in seconds.  They decide every six weeks if there should be more or less money in the US. More money which can mean more jobs and opportunities but also can mean high inflation.  Less money can slow down the economy too much.  This is a balancing act that if not done right can devastate.  Federal Reserve gives money to banks in return for treasury bonds. Button pressing, that’s what it comes down too. Our money system relies upon this magic trick. If the determination of our currency was left in the hands of the people madness would ensue. Citizens would print more money every day. This is problematic because the more money in circulation the higher the inflation.

P4. Money is not only the paper in our pocket but it is also something we can’t see. Digital money is easier to manage and easier to lose. From our phone screens, we can move money to one account into another. But people hundreds of miles away can move that money into their possession just as easy. My debit card account was recently tampered with and it feels as if someone walked into your home and broke into your piggy bank.  Whether the paper is in your pocket or a number on an ATM screen it doesn’t make it any less personable when someone steals from you. Someone taking your money makes you feel unsafe in all aspects of money handling.

P5. Its bewildering to look at a stock market or housing market crash; we wonder how did the value just plummeted. We ask where did those millions and trillions of dollars go? The answer: it doesn’t go anywhere because it never existed. In “Invention of Money”, the Planet Money team questioned the idea of disappearing money. As logical people who understand million and trillion is a very large number the enormous loss confuses us. The Plant Money team explains that money is only a concept and not tangible thing.  Money doesn’t exist as a thing but rather an idea.  Money isn’t solid and its value could disappear at any given moment. So, one day your house could be worth three hundred thousand and a week later be reduced to two hundred fifty thousand.  Your house didn’t change but the market did.  Nothing made your house worth fifty thousand less, expect the fact that perspective buyers changed.

P6. There isn’t much difference between a stone at the bottom of the ocean and a number from the ATM. Both we cannot see; we simply trust they’re present.  We depend on the rock at the bottom of the sea and the printed numbers from the bank.  We never hold or even lay our eyes on such measurements of wealth yet we believe in them.  The power of money is only registered and fueled by our unyielding belief.

P7. In “Invention of Money” we learn the Brazilian people had to be tricked into believing that their money was more valuable than it currently was. In the 1950’s Brazil’s president wanted to build Brasilia, a beautiful new city.  In order to get the money for such a pricey expansion. He printed more money which raised inflation dramatically.  From this point on, Brazil was on a downward spiral.  The price of milk one day could be one dollar and over the next few weeks it would double. The changing prices were sky rocketing and grocery stores were always adjusting prices. Four underdog economists working with the Brazilian government, created virtual currency in hopes that this would fix the economy. Virtual currency was created which is synonymous with imaginary money.   People trusted this new currency after they saw prices steady. For milk, the price was one URV (Unit of Real Value), but the one URV might be worth 10-20 cruzerios (Planet Money). Fake money became real money when the people believed in it. They used their virtual currency to purchase items that would normally take several months to pay off. With virtual currency the price was attainable and would be paid off at a later date. People began spending. This brought Brazil into the eighth largest economic country.  From nothing to everything; all in the belief of this new money. This idea relied on the publics belief.

P8. Americans, Yaps and Brazilians are all on the same page. Americans believe in paper, Yaps believe in stones, and Brazilians in virtual currency.  These do not become currency without belief.  We give meaning to our own currency’s.  A dollar bill means nothing to the Yaps while the same goes for a large stone in America.  And virtual currency would mean nothing without the Brazilians belief.  Money is what we make it.  Money is both our rise and our fall.

Works Cited

Friedman, Milton. “The Island of Stone Money.” Diss. Hoover Institution, Stanford University, 1991.

Goldstein, Jacob. “The Invention Of ‘The Economy’.” NPR, NPR, 28 Feb. 2014, http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/02/28/283477546/the-invention-of-the-economy. Accessed 19 Sept. 2017.

E03 Critical Reading–todayistheday

Section 19

“There’s a little town with no stoplights by the name of Republic.”

  • Little town with no stoplights: gives image of quaint small town with a southern drawn out peaceful pace.
  • Visual: creates an image of a quiet, calm atmosphere where the hustle and bustle of traffic does not exist. 
  • Republic: this word means that members have equality amongst them.  From the tone of the article you can sense there isn’t equality amongst all members of this community. The name of the town provides irony towards the message.

“-her husband’s disability pay ended when he killed himself in 2001.”

  • ended: can be used for both the disability and his life.
  • disability pay ended: this is concerning but not shocking.
  • killed himself: shocking and disheartens reader.
  • Author uses the death of woman’s husband to disarm the reader in the morbidity of the situation. This tactic although morbid is successful.  It tilts the balance in favor of the author’s perspective.

“VVW now has more modest but no less determined facilities-“

  • More modest but no less determined: What is the measurements for more and no less? How do you compare modest and determined?
  • Categorical claim: Measuring previous VVW facilities to their current mobile and log cabin, claiming one is more modest but both are determined.
  • Claim not entirely necessary to make point clear that VVW works hard.

“Danna smiles easy but moves pretty slow because she threw her back out again.”

  • may be hurt physically but her spirit and outlook are intact.
  • Comparison: exterior smile and her interior pain.
  • Relevance between exterior of veterans and their interior pain (PTSD).

“Money has to be first. You can’t breathe without it.”

  • money is fundamental, but we were taught money shouldn’t be everything.
  • Can’t breathe without it: you suffocate with its absence.
  • Causal claim: You need money to survive.
  • Categorical: Placing money into the same category as life necessities such as food, water, shelter, oxygen.
  •   Relevance is underlying because without benefits and disabilities the only way to get better is to fork up a lot of cash.

“She NEEDS therapy”

  • wife: this article focuses on the trauma of war vets families.
  • NEEDS: in all capital letters really highlights the importance.
  • relevance to article is critical because it shows the importance of getting help for secondary trauma sufferers.

“-may take years for the verdict to come in on whether secondary trauma will be officially acknowledged as its own unique personal hell.”

  • May: suggests an unknown estimate
  • Years: plural can mean more than one year. But suggests several from the way statement is worded.
  • Verdict: judgement cast down on criminals; guilty or innocent.
  • Hell: conjures images of fiery pits of torture that we are sentenced too.
  • Substitution for verdict and hell would be more accurate as evidence and diagnose. The author carefully uses words with negative impacts. 
  • Successful

“-will cost the VA 1.7 million if he lives until 80.”

  • Will: definite
  • If: indefinite.
  • Categorical claim: he does or he doesn’t live until 80.
  • Author uses will and if into claim to cast doubt, price tag is definite but life expectancy is questionable.

 

END OF HOUR

Summaries–todayistheday

Polio Killings

It seems counterintuitive to assassinate the people dedicated to saving your country from a life-threatening disease.  Polio vaccination workers have been targeted simply for administering a drug to save people. These workers lost their lives trying to save others.  The polio disease is an epidemic in Pakistan, 200 children were paralyzed in 2011 alone. Poliomyelitis is a disease that paralyzes spinal and respiratory functions. These horrific statistics and figures are only growing as the Taliban continue to fight off every attempt health officials make at vaccinating citizens.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-20767138

 

“Buy one, Give one”

It seems counterintuitive to hesitate when offered the opportunity to give to those less fortunate.  Big companies such as, Toms, provide the chance for you to give to someone else while also giving to yourself.  Toms is known for its “buy one, give one” foundation. It seems ridiculous to question the ethics of such a noble cause.  Instead of working with local business and communities in need, they just shower them in shoes.  This act doesn’t help anyone, it is simply a Band-Aid on a broken limb.  Toms “buy one, give one” only serves to make them look good and not do good.   

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/05/toms-shoes-buy-one-give-one/

SeaWorld’s Orcas

It seems counterintuitive to rip down an empire for a handful of mammals.  Since, the release of the documentary, “Blackfish”, SeaWorld has been under fire for their environment and conditions in which their orca whales suffer.  Orcas are captured in their wild habitat and torn away from their family so that they can provide humans entertainment for a few hours.  SeaWorld advocates for the protection of wildlife, although, the captivity of these whales is harmful rather than helpful. No animal’s life should be reduced to the entertainment of humans rather than freedom in their natural environment.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/17/us/seaworld-last-generation-of-orcas/index.html

 

Stone Money–todayistheday

P1. As a college student paying their way through school; money is so crucial. It seems to be the focus of all my thoughts. How much money is in my account? How much am I getting paid this week? I’m constantly checking my TD bank app, memorizing the numbers. Every person over the age of eighteen thinks about money at least once throughout their day. How can we, as civilized beings, not revolve around such an essential part of living in this modern world?  But we must ask ourselves what is money?

P2. Is money a crinkled stained piece of paper? Or is it a hefty limestone rock? Doesn’t the definition of money depend on an individual’s belief and culture?  As Americans, we are raised around the mindset that the paper in your wallet and the number on a ATM slip of paper makes your worth. As we learn in “Island of Stone Money” by Milton Friedman the Yaps, a small island made of five to six thousand people their wealth is based around a large limestone rock in their possession. Yaps are pre-industrial people who used massive stone sculptures as currency, this currency is known as fei. They collected this limestone from an island several hundreds of miles away and brought it to their home land to be used as currency.  The ownership and possession of the stone was known amongst the people.  The importance was unquestioned.

P3. To some the concept of hefty unmoving stones used as currency may seem ridiculous. But when a financial crisis occurs we ask where did those millions and trillions of dollars go? “Invention of Money” broadcasted by Planet Money the idea of disappearing money is questioned. As logical people who understand million and trillion is a very large number we must question how did it disappear and who got it? The answer is that money was only a concept and never a tangible thing. Money doesn’t exist as a thing but rather an idea. Money isn’t solid and its value could disappear.

P4. What’s so different between a stone at the bottom of the ocean and a number from the ATM? Both we cannot see, we simply trust they’re present. We depend on the rock at the bottom of the sea and the printed numbers from the bank. We never can hold or even lay our eyes on such measurements of wealth yet we believe in them. We believe so blindly, that our own blindness is unknown to us. We were born blind to the emptiness of money. The power of money is only registered and fueled by our unyielding belief.

P5. With belief, the Brazilian people knew their money had value again. In “Invention of Money” we learn that with no hard proof, the people had to be tricked into believing. Virtual currency was created which was basically imaginary money. The idea of virtual currency was created because Brazil had such high inflation and the economy was almost impossible to fix.  Four underdog economists created virtual currency in hopes that this would fix the economy.  People trusted this knew currency, the fake money became real money when the people believed in it. This brought Brazil into the eighth largest economic country. From nothing to everything, all in the belief of this new money. This idea relied heavily on the publics belief. Without their belief in this new money the idea would crumble like all the other ideas.

P6. As human beings, we prefer to be able to explain things rather than cast them away as phenomenon or chance. When the Great Depression crumbled America most people wondered how this could happen. “The Invention of ‘The Economy’” teaches us that before the Great Depression the economy never existed.  It wasn’t until the 20th century that the economy came into existence. The government started crunching numbers to figure out an official number for the value of goods and services within the nation’s year. This would be the national income. Soon enough everybody is talking about the economy. Something that had never existed before had now swept the nation and become something of great importance to every class in America. America soon wasn’t the only one keeping score. Eventually, other nations began calculating and measuring their wealth. Economy became a measuring tool for power and status. Which country was winning? Simply, check the economy.

P7. “Invention of Money” discusses in details that the Federal Reserve can create money out of nothing, can whip up pieces of paper and small coins, items that make the world go around. Federal Reserve is not a part of the government and doesn’t look to the government for any decisions. They decide every six weeks should there be more or less money in the US? More money which can mean more jobs and opportunities but also can mean high inflation.  Less money can slow down the economy too much.  This is a balancing act that if not done right can devastate. Federal Reserve gives money to banks in return for treasury bonds. Button pressing, that’s what it comes down too. Our money system is relied upon this magic trick. Magic of Central Banking is based on trust, without it Central Banking becomes nothing.

P8. Americans, Yaps and Brazilians are all on the same page. Americans believe in paper, Yaps believe in stones, and Brazilians in virtual currency. Each of these do not become currency without belief. We give meaning to our own currency’s. A dollar bill means nothing to the Yaps while the same goes for a large stone in America. And virtual currency would mean nothing without the Brazilians belief. Could we blame our belief or disintegrating belief on our economic status? If we believe our money is more than it currently is, would that change anything? I never knew anything about economics until this assignment. It’s quite alarming to see the differences in currency but mostly the interworking’s of currency. It reminds me of the Wizard of OZ and the great Wizard of Oz is nothing but one man hiding behind a curtain, pushing buttons. Millions out of mole hills. Money is what we make it. Money is both our rise and our fall.

Works Cited

Friedman, Milton. “The Island of Stone Money.” Diss. Hoover Institution, Stanford University, 1991.

“The Invention of Money.” 423: The Invention of Money. This Is American Life, WBEZ. Chicago. 7 Jan 2011.

Goldstein, Jacob. “The Invention Of ‘The Economy’.” NPR, NPR, 28 Feb. 2014, http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/02/28/283477546/the-invention-of-the-economy. Accessed 19 Sept. 2017.

Visual Rhetoric–todayistheday

0:00- In this freeze frame we are presented with a dusty sepia colored landscape.  The houses in the background are small and decently kept. The dimmed color makes it hard to pin point the time of day but most likely early afternoon. A car is parked distantly in the driveway of a small rancher home.  A brown brick building is close by.  A white gas pump station is centered to the left of the screen.  The numbers and words on the pumps are neatly placed and easy to read even with the fuzzy quality.  Gas prices are low and frozen from the last transaction.

0:01- An older tan car pulls into the gas station lot. They slow to a stop and park in front of the brown brick building. On the wall in front of the car is a blue payphone.  The blue seems to jump out from the rest of its drab surroundings.

0:02- The bright blue phone is hard to ignore.  A brown car parked in front of a brown building, and the rest of the surrounding seem to blend in with the dull.  But amongst it all is a bright blue pay phone. It draws you to the center of the screen.

0:03- Two teenage girls step out of the car.  They are pretty and young but the hair and fashion of their outfits screams 80’s. One girl who steps out of the driver side is wearing pale high rise jeans and a white shirt. Her hair is teased and volumized.  Her friend is wearing a long sleeve black sweatshirt paired with patterned tights underneath green athletic shorts.  She is holding something in her hand and has sunglasses on. The black and white contrast of the girls outfits makes the connection to black and white.  Right and wrong.  But the coloring of the scene is neither black nor white.  The background that surrounds the two girls is a wooded area.  They may be from somewhere in the suburbs, a small town that hugs the wood line.

0:04- The girl in the white grabs the payphone and turn toward the other girl.  The girl in the white out-stretches her hand toward the other girl.  The girl looks to be holding a wallet in her hand but its too blurry to tell.

0:05- The girl and the phonebooth become the only focus.  She is reaching for the phone, her face is calm.  In her white shirt and hair blowing back gently, she seems very innocent.

0:06- Girl’s fingers begin dialing a number.  Her nail polish is white and neatly applied.  Above the numbers there is a sticker with SAVE in all bold letters. The words below are illegible so it makes you ponder what are we saving?

0:08- The girl in white brings the phone to her ear. While her friend stands by with her hand on her hip.

0:09- The girl in white rolls her eyes as she moves to bring the phone to her ear.  Her friend besides her remains blank faced as she waits beside her.

0:10- The girl switches the phone to her left hand, as she lazily leans against the booth.  Her friend waits by with her hand on hip.  This is when I noticed that when the girl switched the phone to her left hand you could notice the hair tie on her wrist.  Her white hair tie was snug against her wrist as she holds the phone.  This made me relate it to a handcuff, shackled to the phone.

0:11- Girls look annoyed, as they continue to progress with the phone call. It’s as if they have more important things to be focusing on and that this is simply an inconvenience.   The phone is finally pressed against her ear.  Wind blows the one girls hair back.

0:14- Girl walks towards driver’s side of car with a bounce in her step. Her hands are empty.

0:15- The front side of the car is the main shot. In the background you can see the girl in white approaching the driver’s side. Trees and farm land are very distant in background. Telephone in the back looks like a cross with the sky surrounding it.

0:16- Background stays the same.  The woods and the telephone pole still in view.  The car color changes. Interior leather seats.  The girls form can be seen through window. She is holding something in her hand.

0:17- The girl’s hand is not empty, she holds a phone in her hand.  The door is open.  Different car  and a different girl.  She is alone this time.  Except for the phone in her hand.

0:18- Girl is wearing black ripped jeans and a black hoodie.  Phone still in hand as she begins to step into her car.

0:19- Girl gets into car and is seated. Her arm is reached to shut the door.  From this point of view, you can tell it’s the same girl in white from earlier.  But it is obviously a different time period.  The car is all black except for the tan seats.  The sun is shining in from the window. She is wearing a tan hat with her hair pulled back.  She has her ears pierced and has her cellphone in her hand. Even as she is reaching to close her car door her eyes never leave her phone screen.

0:20- Camera view is low to the ground as if placed on road.  The black car the girl is driving starts to drift slightly over the yellow line. A car can be seen in the distance on the other side of the road.

0:21- Point of view as if looking over girl’s shoulder. Black interior of car with black clothing draws your eyes toward white screen of phone. Text convo can be seen but words can’t be deciphered.  But her head is angled to the side, looking at the phone. Her thumb is hovering over keyboard.  She has two unanswered texts on screen.

0:22- Camera point of view is low to ground again. The girl’s car is now well over the yellow line. Heading straight toward the van on the opposite side of the road.  You can assume this point of view is from the front of the girl’s car.  Telephone poles line the side of the road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvetZKxcq9Q