Fistfull of Dollars

Today's blog assignment was to blog about "Whatever". In the spirit of the class, I'll keep my blog English related by giving a literary analysis of the single greatest epic of our time. Fistfull of Dollars is the first in a series of 3 movies starring Clint Eastwood as "The Man With No Name". Most people skip the first two and just watch The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, which, for the sake of the story, is fine, but if you really want to understand all the underlying themes in the trilogy, you have to watch the first two. In Fistfull of Dollars, Clint Eastwood plays a lone bounty hunter who goes from town to town collecting the reward money for crimals he has captured and demasculated. Clint Eastwood's character never gives his name, but you would almost never notice. Many viewers will call the movie "just another western" however, the movie forms the basis for civilization. Eastwood's character portrays the epitome of manhood. He only speaks when necessary and identifies with no one unless he has to. He kills evil men, but only because he will get paid. The only time he isn't smoking a cigar in the movie is if he is rolling one. He drinks water when he's thirsty and whisky when he's not. Best of all, he is never caught unarmed. And he's a badass. You can base any decision in life by what Eastwood does in this movie, and if it weren't the terrible acting on the part of the Mexicans, this would have been easily recognized as the greatest film series, ever. Not to mention he has the greatest theme music, you may not know it, but you'll recognize it. My only regret about this movie is that most of the things he does are now against the law, which is lame because normally I would carry a colt pistol and a bottle of tequila everywhere...maybe one day.

Second Work Experience

My second work experience starts with me helping organize the kits. I don't get near as dirty, so I get bored very quickly, but i stay on task, just moving boxes, taking things out, putting them in other boxes. I never lost heart though, all my work is for a good cause, but then again, most of the things I do are. Finally I get to go out and get some field experience. Working with a partner was fun, but the main benefit is you don't have to deal with people alone. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind people, but I do mind talking to them. Actually the "clients" were very nice that day, and they let me go about my chores without distraction, and then they asked me questions that they would soon forget the answers to (hows school, where are you from, why are you in my house) but it was all in good fun because I enjoy meeting new people. Nothing really exciting happened during my work, but then again my life is so extreme something has to really be thrilling for me to get excited about it (?). Just because my work isn't life threatening I do enjoy it because of the good it does, because without the work, I would have probably been doing nothing, or eating. I do like to help people, not only because it gives you an excuse to be mean to other people later on, but becauser I like being helped when I have problems (at least I imagine I would if I had any).

First Work Experience

My first work experience was quite some time ago, but I am just now getting around to writing about it. My first day was set up as an orientation where I could learn how to install all the necessary components of the kits. I didn't have to drive, which came as a relief to me because I really dont like driving. The first house we went to was pretty old but in a nicer part of town. The lady who lived there was a widow and she lived alone. She was very kind hearted and talked to us a little while we did the work. I felt fantastic after I got done because she could now afford to heat her house in the winter, which as you know is very close. I've written an entire paper about that house, so I will move on to the next house. The house was very typical, not low income, but just a sample house to try out the kits on. Not much really went on except for I have never come so close to killing a family dog in my life (except for the times I actually did). The little dog in the house somehow kept barking the whole time, but I kept a good heart about it. I feel like I got my experience off to a good start.

You Can't Argue With Me

Actually, you probably can, but not here. The topic for this blog is to discuss the fallacies of my argument for energy reduction. I can't think of any reason why someone would not want to save energy, but some people do not realize the immediate importance of this matter. Many critics treat this topic like religion in the sense that its nice for some, but it isnt really necessary because it doesn't matter. FALSE. If you dont weatherize your house, surely you will go to hell. Actually, it has nothing to do with it. More importantly, some people don't take the problem seriously for a few reasons. For one, plenty of oil is still in the ground, and we won't run out any time soon. 90% of the oil we buy in America comes from other countries-OVERPRICED. You could almost say that we are just shelling out money into other economies. Also, a group of people exists that doesn't believe that greenhouse gases are destroying the planet, or at least that they can't stop the destruction of the atmosphere by sealing up one house. This group of people probably doesn't vote either. Whatever the reasons, unless people start helping, nothing will ever get better.

Doing My Part

I am a volunteer for the Home Weatherization Project, as you already know if you've read my other articles. I want to help directly the only way I know how: labor. Labor is the main reason I chose this group because labor doesn't require a great deal of thinking, and since I was such a star athlete in high school, I found the physical demands to be easy. Actually, if it were easy, it wouldn't be work, which is the purpose. Anyway, another way I plan on helping is researching the underlying problem-energy loss. Energy can be conserved in many ways, but weatherization is the absolute best way for the moment because everyone participate, which adds up. Also, the repairs are not costly, and I could do them, which carries its own explanation. Well, energy reduction is a problem that cannot be "solved" at the moment, but every little bit helps.

"Us and Them"

To be honest, "Us and Them" by David Sedaris is the only article I've been assigned which I've felt compelled to read every word. Not that the others weren't that good, they just weren't interesting. However, I had trouble spotting the main argument, but as best I can figure, it's about how T.V. makes people different. In the story, a family that lives near the author has no television, and from what I figure, never has. Once the author begins to describe the family, you can really see the difference it makes in peoples' lives. The family wasn't better per se, just different. Although neither family was better because of a television or lack of, it just seemed like an unknown concept to not own or ever see T.V.

"Supersize Me"

In the film Supersize Me, film maker Ryan Spurlock eats nothing but McDonald's food for a solid 30 days. As expected, the diet is harmful to his body. The purpose of this experiment was to show the responsiblity of fast food companies to provide healthier food. McDonald's claims that the film is not so much about the franchise as Spurlocks decision to take part in such an irrational diet and a "super-sized distortion of the quality, choice, and variety available at McDonald's." I agree with the first half, but not the second. No one would only eat McDonald's or anything that unhealthy for that long, however, he does show that it is generally unhealthy. On the other hand, the comment about the variety at McDonald's is garbage. He did eat everything on the menu, and he got sick.

Community Service of West Alabama

I have chosen to work with the organization Community Service of West Alabama: Home Weatherization project. The purpose of this project is to go out into low income areas and install weatherization materials on houses. This not only makes the house itself safer, it cuts down on energy costs, which is a big help to the members of these families. I chose this group because I have some experience in house repair and general labor. I felt that labor was the best use of my volunteer hours. Although I haven't worked with the group yet, I'm sure it will be a good experience.

Border Patrol State

I recently read the article "The Border Patrol State" by Leslie Silko. The article is used as an example of a narrative argument. In short, the article is about racial profiling by the border patrol. We did an in class analysis of this piece, and the general opinion was that the paper was not great. The author uses language too much to describe a problem that really isn't that bad of a problem. I do feel sympathy for the author, but I don't necessarily feel anger towards the border patrol because by making a few people slightly uncomfortable, they are helping solve a huge problem in the United States.

"Act From the Heart"

"Act From the Heart" is an inspiring article about being passionate in service. The article starts by showing the difference between identifying a problem and solving a problem. Most of the worlds problems have been identified, but they get little more than sympathy. A problem cannot be solved until someone steps up and acts upon it. The article says the key to solving a problem is dividing the solution into two parts-"look for ways that not only relieve the immediate suffering but also go to the root of the problem"(158). The key to making a real impact on the problem is to be passionate about a certain problem or at least a certain aspect of it. When someone acts with true compassion, or "from the heart", the person can make a genuine difference toward solving a problem. The article uses specific examples, such as former president Jimmy Carter and his wife in their efforts with Habitat for Humanity. The Carters found a problem they not only truly cared about, but enjoyed the work and its benefits.

Introduction

I am Whitt Young, a freshman at the University of Alabama. This blog, as the title suggests, is for my English 103 class. This semester I will be posting about service learning, which contains an understanding of community service as well as a report on my activity in Tuscaloosa.