English 271 Reflection

           When I first entered into this class I wasn’t very excited because of my past experiences with English classes. During my 101 experience, the learning objectives seemed to be mostly focused on how to properly use a comma. However, the number of creative opportunities that were apparently present in our first assignment “Wikipedia Article,” mirrored the chances that we got to employ our own ideas in all of the following assignments. Honestly, when I first signed up for this class I wasn’t positive what expository writing was. In the first couple weeks, we immediately discussed what expository writing consisted of and set out to write our own form of a Wikipedia article, the pinnacle of expository writing. At this point, I thought that recognizing an author’s intention on an essay would be a breeze. They want to give you information on a topic, duh. When we moved onto rewriting the news and later assignments, I quickly realized that the intentions of an author are much more complex and intricately woven into their writing.

            When writing post #3, I tried to incorporate a little voice into my essay while not only, staying true to the expository format, but also staying true to my audience. During this assignment and also while reading the articles about facial acupuncture, I noticed how much of a difference the reader perceives when there is bias in an article. Recently, whenever I read an article online or in the newspaper, I find myself trying to seek out any sort of bias that the author has included, whether it be explicitly or implicitly. Also, without thinking twice, I’ll ponder the ways that their style and voice affect the piece of writing, and how I would modify it to reflect both my personal tone and my opinion. Although the first three posts were difficult for me I really learned how to take apart a piece of writing and analyze the audience, intention, and style.

            I was more comfortable writing the following posts because I had a clear objective. For example, in the extended definition essay, I enjoyed having a clearly defined word and then expanding on it using present examples. At first when I decided to use Herman Cain as my example for charisma, I wasn’t so sure it would work out. However, while writing, I found that it was easy and fun to expand on a definition using this rhetorical mode. The rhetorical mode essays showed me the different kinds of essays that can be composed using expository writing. All in all, this class has taught me to subconsciously analyze writing in new and more specific ways, and what kinds of essays to apply expository writing to.

French Cuisine Through the Ages

Many food aficionados venerate French cuisine as the finest form of the culinary arts. While people in other countries were making the simplest, most cost-effective dishes they could, only so that they might receive proper nutrition, the French have long placed taste above all else. Contemporary society still knows the names of French chefs from long ago, such as Guillaume Tirel, sometimes referred to as Taillevent—and he cooked in the 14th century. Today chefs classify French cooking into different categories: the age of haute cuisine, the age of the mother sauces, modern haute cuisine, and modern nouvelle cuisine.

The Age of Haute Cuisine

Haute cuisine began in the 17th century by a man named La Varenne. Also known as grande cuisine (high cooking), haute cuisine comprised of many small dishes both prepared and presented elaborately. He prepared lighter dishes than his predecessors in the Middle Ages, and the roux—a thickening agent for soups and sauces made today of flour and butter—was first listed in his cookbooks. Many consider his first cookbook, Cvisinier François (“French Cooking”), to be the first true French cookbook. He was the first to define marinades and to treat ragout—a traditional stew—as a dish instead of a garnish. Like his contemporaries, he belonged to a guild that determined when, where, and what he could cook. La Varenne made countless refinements to French cuisine, many of which still exist today.

The Age of the Mother Sauces

At the end of the 18th century, French cooking evolved further. With the French Revolution, guilds were more or less abolished, meaning that chefs had much more freedom to cook as they pleased. Marie-Antoine Carême, born in 1784, was originally a pastry chef, but eventually was cooking for Napoleon Bonaparte. He is credited with the creation of the “mother sauces,” the three base sauces from which most others are derived. These were called espagnole, a concoction of a roux, water or veal stock, vegetables, bones, and beef; velouté, a light stock thickened with a light roux; and béchamel, hot milk mixed with a light roux. Cooks continue to employ these sauces every day. Soufflés first appear in Carême’s recipes—dishes prepared with eggs which rise significantly when baked. He employed variations of the roux which La Varenne created. He also continued the tradition of haute cuisine.

Modern Haute Cuisine

Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, a man named George Auguste Escoffier revolutionized French cuisine. Working in many hotels, he invented the brigade system. In it, cooks are organized into different groups to prepare different parts of the meal, rather than a single chef working on one dish at a time. Instead, he organized his cooks into five groups: the garde manger who made all the cold dishes, the saucier who cooked the sauces and soups, the entremettier who prepared all the vegetables and the starches, the pâtissier who made the desserts and pastries, and the rôtisseur who grilled, roasted, and fried ingredients. In this manner, dishes could be prepared far more rapidly and presented to the customer in less time. Escoffier continued the tradition of many elegant dishes, but made them lighter and sought to focus on the flavor of ingredients rather than masking unpleasant ones with heavy sauces. He used roux as well, though with less frequency.

Modern Nouvelle Cuisine

Nouvelle cuisine was coined as early as the 18th century, but the current style of cooking is referred to by the same name. In the 1960s, with increased immigration from Portugal, French cuisine changed tremendously. Nouvelle cuisine was a rebellion against the traditions of French cooking. Throwing away the idea of many, elaborate dishes, chefs began to serve fewer, simpler plates. They looked toward the flavor of each ingredient even more than Escoffier, and began to omit the use of the béchamel and espagnole sauces, deeming them too heavy. Some think that meat shortages in the Second World War contributed to the development of nouvelle cuisine. Regardless, it was a drastic change. Ingredients were cooked very lightly to preserve the original flavors they possessed, and steaming became very popular to help accomplish this. Freshness of ingredients was essential. Herbs, lemon juice, vinegar, and butter became more popular instead of thick roux. Regional dishes gained more importance, too, and modern equipment—including microwaves—became popular. Also, rather than the traditional concept of the chef cooking as he wanted, chefs paid much more attention to the wants and needs of the customers. Finally, cooking became more inventive and playful, and chefs tried to present new, unheard of combinations of ingredients. Though in the 1980s nouvelle cuisine fell out of favor with some and there was a return to modern haute cuisine, the two forms of cooking are both used extensively throughout the world.

Haute cuisine enjoys a rebirth today, though the foundations laid by all the essential chefs remain, both in French cooking and in other types of cuisine. Each step of old haute cuisine, mother sauces, modernization of haute cuisine, and nouvelle cuisine have been crucial to the evolution of the fine art of French cooking.

How to Jailbreak 4.3.3 iOS on the iPhone 4 and iPod Touch

This article will give you a step-by-step guide on how to jailbreak not only the iPhone 4, but also almost any Apple device running on 4.3.3 iOS. Technically speaking, jailbreaking removes the limitations Apple places on its products. Practically speaking, jailbreaking allows you to get free applications, moving backgrounds, and many more modifications and "tweaks" on your device. However, the process will void the warranty on your device, and may make your device slightly slower. By following these instructions and navigating through each step successfully, you will be able to jailbreak any 4.3.3.3 iOS Apple device.  

Cydia theme that features 5x5 app display

iWild Flowers theme 

Jailbreaking Your Apple Device

Step 1: First, on your iPhone or iPod Touch, go to “Settings” > “General” > “About.” Confirm that under “Version,” it says “4.3.3.” If your Apple device says something else, you have an alternate version, and this method may not work. Then plug the device into your computer using a USB cord. iTunes may or may not open automatically. If it does, make sure not to download any updates onto your device, but if it doesn’t, open iTunes manually.

Step 2: Next, you need to download two items: Redsn0w and the new firmware you will be putting on your device. (Redsn0w is the software that helps you to jailbreak and firmware is the small amount of basic programming that structures an electronic instrument). To download both of these, see the following link: http://tysiphonehelp.com/home/2011/5/6/untethered-433-jailbreak-iphone-4-3gs-ipod-touch-3g-4g-ipad.html

Step 3: When you have the link above opened, look under the heading “4.3.3 Firmware.” Click on the device you plan to jailbreak to ensure you download the correct software. Scroll further down the page to the download links for Redsn0w and click either on the link for Windows or Macintosh, depending on which operating system your computer is running. Save both these files to your computer’s desktop.

Step 4: After you’ve opened the download link, open Redsn0w and click “Browse.” Locate the firmware that was downloaded to the desktop in Step 2 and then click “Next.” Make sure that the box next to “Install Cydia” is checked. I would recommend also checking “Enable Battery Percentage” but that step is optional. Enabling the battery percentage will allow you to view the amount of battery remaining as a number, instead of a partially filled outline of a battery.

Step 5: Make sure that your device is turned OFF but is still plugged into the computer. Do not turn your device on, and then plug it into the computer. Make sure to plug in your device first, and then turn it off. There are practically no risks in jailbreaking your device, but just in case you can’t access normal apps from the Apple marketplace or just want to revert back to a non-jailbroken state, you can always just plug in your iPod to the computer and click restore on iTunes.

Step 6: On Redsn0w, hit the “Next” button. Now you must put your device into DFU mode. This can be a little tricky but should only take a couple attempts at the most. I’m sure that by now almost everyone is familiar with the buttons on your iPhone or iPod touch, but just as a reminder, the circular button below the screen of the device is the “Home” button, and the small rectangular button on the top edge of the device is the “Power” button. When you click "next" on Redsn0w, the program will guide you through the process of putting your iPhone or iPod touch into DFU mode. You will need to hold down the power button for three seconds. Finally, while still pressing the “Power” button, simultaneously begin holding down the “Home” button. Count to ten seconds before releasing the “Power” button, but keep pressing the “Home” button for another 30 seconds.

Congratulations! You have just jailbroken Apple device. Before you worry about legal repercussions, know that jailbreaking is legal in the United States. The only serious negative effect from the procedure is that Apple reserves the right to void your warranty if they discover you have jailbroken your device. Battery life and system stability may be affected slightly, but batteries can be replaced easily, and you can always restore your device back to default settings. Enjoy your newfound electronic freedom!

Charisma: Its Concise Connotations and an Elucidated Explanation

Over and over again, we hear the term “charisma,” or its adjectival form “charismatic,” thrown about left and right. In today’s world, with politics holding such an important role in our lives and the 2012 Presidential Elections coming up in just one year, a firm understanding of the term becomes increasingly important. Charisma is defined by the Encarta English Dictionary as either “personal magnetism,” i.e. “the ability to inspire enthusiasm, interest, or affection in others by means of personal charm or influence,” or a “divine gift,” i.e. “a gift or power believed to be divinely bestowed.” For the purposes of this essay, we will focus on the former definition, specifically in relation to the charisma that politicians often have or lack. True charisma entails the ability to rally a significant group of people to support a charismatic speaker not only by appealing to their sensibilities and desires, but by doing so in a manner that manipulates the audience into thinking the speaker will do all the hard work and solve many more problems than often is possible. A current contender for the Republican Presidential Nomination and our current president serve as ideal illustrations. Charisma is not only a genuine attribute, but also a manipulative method with which a speaker can convince his audience without respect to the logic or validity of his arguments. 

          This term originally comes from the Greek χαρισμα, which translates to “favor that is freely given.” To some extent, charisma does mean that support is given without much ground. Herman Cain speaks so strongly about his intent for change that his missteps are largely ignored, without respect to their severity. Recently, three reports of sexual misconduct have surfaced. In the first two instances, Cain did not fight his accusers, but quietly reached cash settlements with them instead. Such actions provide ample reason to suspect the allegations are true, for if he were innocent, would he not have attempted to deny the charges? Still, popular support of Mr. Cain remains strong, and he leads the polls. This reminds us of the original Greek word; favor of him can certainly be seen then as being freely given.

Mr. Cain has made other errors as well: he gravely insulted an entire country in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network early in October. When asked if he was ready for the “‘gotcha’ questions that are coming from the media and others on foreign policy? Like, who’s the president of Uzbekistan?” Cain replied that he was indeed “ready…and they’re already starting to come.” He continued by saying, “when they ask me who is the president of ‘Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan,’ I’m going to say, you know, I don’t know. Do you know? And then I’m going to say, how’s that going to create one job?” Because of his ability to appeal to certain Republican sensibilities (e.g. the creation of jobs), his slur against a population of over 27 million people is forgiven. Mr. Cain not only speaks passionately, but his speech appeals to his audience, and he manipulates them into thinking he has everything under control. In reality, this approach to foreign policy would be devastating to an administration, for not only would the offended country despise him, but also most of the rest of the world for an insolent statement such as that. But this does not affect his popularity, for Herman Cain has real charisma.

            All too often we define charisma by the degree of vigor that an orator has. If this orator sounds enthusiastic and passionate about his topic, at the very least we are inclined to believe his fervor, if not agree with him to some extent, whether or not we would normally find his beliefs valid. Herman Cain delivers speeches with enormous enthusiasm. Despite being a Democrat, I recognize his extreme charisma. But seeing charisma as just passionate speech is too narrow a view. Barack Obama provides the perfect case study to elucidate this point. Obama delivered his famous “Yes, We Can” speech with enormous energy and true charisma. He manipulated the public into having great hope for his presidency, but entering into the final year of this term he has yet to accomplish much of what he set out to do. No one should have expected anything else, for despite how passionate, despite how willing, despite how intelligent Obama may be, while he is in office so is a Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Our constitution prohibits a president from acting in most instances without the House’s consent, and as such, even the most promising of candidates can do nothing when he lacks support within the government. Obama was able to convince the public that he could do everything they wanted, whatever the reality of the situation was, and he won with a significant margin of victory against his opponent John McCain—52.9 percent to 45.7 percent. In this respect, Obama is the same as Cain: he, too, has true charisma.

            In the coming year, as candidates’ respective popularities rise and fall, the astute observer should consider each politician’s charisma. Is this person saying these things to appease us? Or is she actually able to accomplish the goals she tells us she will? We must be critical of charisma if we are to select the best choice for our country. Perhaps in years to come charisma will become a less important factor in deciding elections, and we will base our decisions more on facts than on fervor. For now, the critical citizen must remember that charisma is based not only in enthusiasm, but also in manipulation. We must be conscious of how much a candidate’s emotions and ours are affecting our decisions and how much sincerity exists within a candidate’s statements. As a young adult who will vote in the 2016 Presidential Elections, I need to always hold these thoughts in the back of my head when making my own decisions, when watching political speeches, and also when seeing examples of non-political charisma, which often operates very similarly. To have a critical mind, I must have charisma in mind.

Natural Healing

I think my skepticism in naturopathic healing stems from my dad’s side of the family. However, lately after hearing much hype about the benefits of one naturopath, Dr. Carl H. Jelstrup, I decided to find out what these unusual health tactics could have to offer. Dr. Jelstrup is a chiropractor and an electro-medicine practitioner at Bellevue Wellness Center. “Electro-medicine” sounded a little intimidating and not very natural to me at first, but my unease dissipated when I was greeted by the friendly lobby environment which included a kind receptionist. She told me that many new patients were uncertain about the sometimes bizarre practices of natural medicine at first, but after a couple sessions they became regular visitors.  When the world is packed with new theories and practices competing to become recognized as the next big thing in medicine, there are bound to be some ideas that are a bit strange. They can range from "offbeat but possibly effective to "what the hell were they thinking?"  

Electro-medicine is not a new technology. Towards the end of the 19th century, there were several inventions that utilized energy in order to heal the body, such as magnet therapy, which used magnetic fields of energy in order to improve blood flow. Nowadays there are a number of tools that use electric and magnetic fields to promote the healing of organs, tissue, or cells within the body. The interaction of these fields, their frequency, the shape of the wave, the pulse, and so forth (it gets more complicated) all play a role in the success of the treatment. It’s all science, it turns out…And I thought it was all hooey! 

I did a little research online and found natural care practitioners that offer not only electro-medicine but a wide-ranging collection of alternative cures including mystical medicine and rebirthing therapy. Mystical medicine refers to a large chunk of natural medicine in general, while rebirthing therapy is a specific exercise that some therapists use on patients to simulate being born. Typically, a patient will be wrapped in a blanket, have pillows put on top of them, and then two or more people will lean on the pillows to simulate birth contractions while the patient has to fight their way out of the cocoon.  These ideas that are sometimes a little far-fetched, are considered alternative because they haven't been accepted by the mainstream medical community. 

Fortunately, I trusted that I was in good hands seeing that Dr. Jelstrup has been practicing medicine for over 40 years, and is known in the Puget Sound area for being able to fix head and neck problems in only days.. Dr. Jelstrup took the time to explain everything in detail as I’m sure he could sense the question marks in my brain with his “bio-phonic scope” or stress resonator. The bio-phonic scope is an instrument that he rubs his fingers on to detect stress radiation by sensing the level of friction it transmits. If it goes from smooth to squeaky, there is neurological interference, in lay terms, “stress”. With these stress indicators as guide lines, he is able to balance the nervous system and recreate a balance for the body’s innate to heal itself. The bio-phonic scope can be integrated with many different kinds of healing medicinal practices in order to achieve balance in the body. "The greater balance we can maintain in our body, the greater sense of well being we will experience emotionally, physically and structurally," he says.

I didn’t get to the balancing my body part because I had too much metal in my body. Mercury? You might ask. Nope, braces. Oh, and a few piercings on my face and ears. According to Dr. Jelstrup, my brace wires are blocking my electrical circuits, interfering with the stability of my neck, my right TMJ (Temporomandibular joint) is showing high stress, and my nervous system is reacting to all the metal. His recommendation is that I get my braces checked and get rid of my piercings. Although, Dr. Jelstrup was able to apply some of his chiropractic methods and cracked several joints in my body which actually did seem to ease some pain in my lower back and hips. 

Many of the natural healing practices that take place at Bellevue Wellness Center haven't been accepted by all doctors  in the mainstream medical community. But practices in the medical field are constantly changing, being improved, and also being discovered and invented. As time goes by, some methods will die out, but some will become successful and go on to help people live healthier lives. Who knows, electro-medicine just might become the next big thing in medicine.

Seattle's Superhero Vigilante Facing Court for Possible Assault

Phoenix Jones is getting charged with fourth-degree assault after pepper spraying four people in an attempt to "break up a fight."

Phoenix Jones, whose real name is Benjamin John Francis Fodar, was arrested early Sunday morning at around 3am for suspicion of fourth-degree assault. Jones claims that he witnessed two men getting "viciously beaten" and intervened the fight.

However, the pepper spray victims say that they were merely "dancing and frolicking with each other," not fighting, after having left a night club. The officers that arrested Phoenix state that they found no evidence of a brawl, but they may have failed to investigate key evidence.

A 14 minute video of the events that occurred that Sunday morning was shot by Peter Tangen, a photographer from Los Angeles who has been documenting Phoenix and his crew of superheroes. Tangen says that Jones was in fact breaking up a fight and that police viewed "less than a minute" of his footage before arresting Jones on suspicion of assault and taking him to King County Jail.          

Phoenix Jones posted his $3,800 bail on Sunday afternoon, and his next court appearance is Thursday. Jones is apparently the leader of the Rain City Superhero Movement and says that he is a symbol "That the average person doesn't have to walk around and see bad things and do nothing."

Although it seems that Jones wants to help prevent violence in the city, the club-goers that he pepper sprayed denied being in any sort of fight and want to see him behind bar for attacking them. Jones and his crew have been reported increasingly for pepper spraying citizens. When Jones was arrested, police confiscated 2 cans of pepper spray from him. Authorities have begun to lose patience with the vigilantes. A Seattle police officer was recorded in a video saying: "Anyone else want to join this party? ... We're about to arrest the whole bunch of ya and clean things up. We're about tired of this game." The comment was directed Phoenix Jones and the men with him.

In the police report filed, officers say that they have advised Jones to contact 911 when he witnesses a crime but he continues to try to solve the problems on his own. The Seattle police spokesman, Jamieson, says that it isn't often necessary to use physical force in order to defuse a situation and, "If you're deploying pepper spray on people on the street, you have to have a good reason to do it or you'll be arrested for assault."

No more than three hours prior to police reporting to the scene where they arrested Phoenix Jones Sunday morning, the "superhero" had reportedly pepper sprayed other club-goers in "some kind of disturbance." No police report was filed for this incident because the people that had supposedly been sprayed, left the scene before police could arrive.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/citizen-superhero-phoenix-jones-arrested-seattle/story?id=14704985

Modern Competitive Fencing

Fencing has been around since the 18th century. The sport has since evolved into a safe, competitive martial art. The sport is divided into three different weapons: foil, sabre, and epee. Foil and sabre are both based on priority, and touches are awarded depending on which fencer begins their attack first and also depending on the blade contact made during an action. However, foil is a thrusting weapon whereas in sabre, touches are scored with the edge of the weapon. Epee is also a thrusting weapon where touches are scored with the tip of the weapon, but it has no priority involved. That is to say if two fencers are to score simultaneously, touches would be awarded to both fencers. This is called a double touch and is unique to epee. Other distinguishing factors between the weapons is the target area. In epee, the target area is the entire body. In foil, valid target includes the torso and back and in sabre the target includes the torso, back, and arms.

Foil

The foil (Weapon C in the picture below) is a thrusting weapon where touches are scored with the tip of the weapon. On the tip of the weapon is a small button that can be pushed down in order to score a touch. There is a wire on the weapon that runs from the button on the tip of the blade, down to a socket on the guard of the foil. An electric body cord must then be plugged into the socket on the weapon and into a wire connected to a scoring machine for the circuit to be complete. The target area for foil includes the chest and back. Also, foil incorporates priority into the scoring. This means that a referee needs to decide which fencer rightfully earns a touch depending on factors such as blade contact and who began their "attack" first.

Epee

The epee (Weapon A) is also a thrusting weapon which means that touches are scored with the tip. The target area is the entire body from head to toe. This is the one weapon that has no priority used in scoring. This means that if two fencers hit each other, they are both awarded touches (Double touch). If the score is tied with both fencers one touch away from winning the bout and there is a double touch, both points are annulled and the score remains the same.

Sabre

In sabre, (Weapon B) touches are primarily scored using the edge of the weapon. The target area includes the head, torso, and arms. Like foil, sabre also incorporates priority into scoring. The rules of priority are similar to foil in that they mostly rely on blade contact and who begins their action first, but there are of course some small differences that are specific to the weapon.

           

Competition

There are many different levels of competition in fencing ranging from local and regional tournaments to world cups and the Olympics. Competitions are segregated by age, weapon, skill level, and sometimes gender. Age brackets include Y10 (10 and under), Y12 (12 and under), Y14 (14 and under), cadet (17 and under), junior (20 and under), and veterans categories which include 40 and over, 50 and over, 60 and over, and 70 and over. Events that are specific to certain skill levels include the division III, division II, and division I categories. For division III it is required that all fencers have a D rating or lower. For division II, entrants must be C or lower and for division I fencers must be C rated or higher. Ratings are awarded to fencers from A-E with A being the highest. If a fencer is not yet rated they are a "U" for unrated.

       

            

Competitions at the regional level are called ROCs (Regional Open Circuits) they are above the level of local and sectional tournaments but below the national level. Fencers can qualify for division III, division II, and division I-A at nationals through ROCs. Division I-A at the national level can be fenced by anyone who has qualified though a ROC. Division I at the national level can only be fenced by competitors who are on the national points list for division I-A. At the national competition level, there are NACs (North American Cups) and the Junior Olympics (JOs). Fencers can earn national points at NACs and the top fencers on the points lists can qualify for World Cups and the Olympics.