Author: jtdavis86

How does a company that normally advertises their product to people in the summer, taking advantage of the outdoor heat and thirst of individuals, advertise that same product to people in the winter?  They get the holidays involved. Coca-Cola does this by using one of the most classic symbols of the Christmas season. Santa is a symbol that appeals to the hearts and minds of adults and children around the world, but more specifically at this point in time, America.  

In this vintage (1931) advertisement from the Saturday Evening Post, we see jolly St. Nick, hat in hand, holding a full glass of Coke with a big smile on his rosy cheeked face.  As a child that has often played in the snow and now an adult that has worked hard outdoors during the winter, this red cheeked face looks oh so familiar. The rosiness and disheveled hair triggers that feeling of your first steps inside the house after hours of being out.  Your face is cold, but your body is warm under multiple layers, the heat escapes from underneath your hat when you take it off and as you begin to remove your outer layers of clothing you may normally be inclined to have a cup of hot chocolate or even coffee but after seeing this advertisement your taste buds will have something a little different in mind.  Instead you’ll be reaching into the fridge for a delicious coke.  

In quotation underneath of Santa Claus we read “MY HAT’S OFF to the pause that refreshes”.  Even though we know ole Kris Kringle isn’t an actual person, we do know that these words are coming from the mouth of this imaginary figure.  If Santa approves of coke who in their right mind would disagree. For children, Santas words probably carry the same amount of weight as the words of Jesus.  As adults, the thought of Santa continues to instill the same cozy feelings that we felt as children. Even though we may not consciously realize it when we see advertisements like this, it will bring the holiday spirit into our hearts.  

“The pause that refreshes” is a line that is used in many vintage Coca-Cola ads.  But it works. “The pause” aka the break, aka the moment in time when all of your worries disappear and all that is in your mind is that delicious taste of coke.  As it pours down your throat and into your soul everything around you dissipates and for a brief moment you can experience bliss.  

“You find a cheerful soda fountain with ice-cold Coca-Cola ready.”  How is a soda fountain cheerful?  We don’t know but we also don’t care.  It makes us feel good. It lets us think that the soda fountain wants us to come get a drink from it and that it is happy to do so.  Not only is it readily available and willing to quench our thirst, it will accomplish this task with “ice-cold Coca-Cola”. It is the exact  thing we want to drink and possibly the exact thing you’ll be craving, after a day of running around gather Christmas gifts for family, friends, etc. and it’s all thanks to this effective Santa Clause advertisement.

Another effective tool, you may not realize is actually effective, is the fact that St. Nick is actually a painting.  He’s not a photograph, or some strange guy at a local store. Why is this? Why not use just a photo? A painting is warm, inviting, homely.  It’s something we wouldn’t mind hanging on the wall on the other side of our Christmas trees. But if nothing else it is in one word, perfect.  The perfect Santa in every way resembling everything and more that we can imagine a real life Claus would look like. Large belly like a bowl full of jelly, rosy red cheeks, a snow white beard.  He’s like a big cuddly polar bear that can’t help but warm you up inside. In a sense he is the perfectly roasted marshmallow, he is the perfect cup of hot chocolate, he is that comforting sound of logs crackling in the fire in front of the gifts with the smell of pine in the air, he is CHRISTMAS.  

For my research paper I decided to go with option #3. This was to get down to brass tacks on the illegal wildlife trade around the globe. My paper will attack 3 main questions.

1. What countries most participate in the exportation of illegal wildlife?
2. What countries import illegal wildlife and for what purpose?
3. What actions are being taken to combat illegal wildlife trade?

As of now I am juggling 3 separate topics around in my brain.

1. The effect of Big Game Trophy Hunting on conservation efforts and fundraising.
2. The effect of commercial zoos on conservation efforts
3. Global Illegal Wildlife trade. Who’s to blame? What is being done?

All 3 topics are near and dear to me as well as most lovers of wildlife and the environment. People tend to be impacted a great deal emotionally when it comes to big game hunting, and illegal trade of wildlife and even about zoos and how they obtain the animals within them. However, I believe that given how deeply we may feel, the amount of information we know about these topics may be lacking. For instance: How much money from obtaining large game returns back to the wildlife conservation efforts? How do commercial zoos obtain their animals? Is their enough profit vs upkeep to actually benefit conservation efforts? Specifically where is the import and export of illegally obtained wildlife happening? Who’s doing it and who is out their to stop them?

This is where I could use some of your help. Which topic, as a reader, would you most like to learn about? 1, 2 or 3. This is also a good spot for you to add your comments for a little blog post participation grade boost. 🙂

So what’s up with the absence of evidence of extraterrestrial existence in the universe?  A question asked by many, coined by physicist Enrico Fermi, that you may have heard referred to as the Fermi paradox.   Although it seems Enrico merely pointed out the controversy between the lack of evidence given and the high likelihood extraterrestrials could exist, it seems that most of the legwork was done by others, specifically Michael H. Hart and Frank J. Tipler.  Michael and Frank expanded on the basic principle of the Fermi Paradox however the question of the paradox still remains. Where’s the evidence? To this, I say, where isn’t the evidence?  

It’s not the mid 1900’s any more.  Have we not seen Ancient Aliens? Alien Documentaries? Roswell New Mexico? The “weather balloon” incident in Los Angeles.  The hundreds of UFO sightings caught on video that flood the internet? There was even a new video on the internet just within the past couple of days, caught off the North Carolina coast, with multiple lights floating over the horizon in the middle of the ocean.  To this, most will just assume people are crazy conspiracy nutjobs. I don’t blame them really, especially when you have people like Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, who appears on the History Channel’s Ancient Aliens, with his crazy ass hair. These kinds of people make it extremely easy to discredit anything that might have the possibility of being actual real evidence.  

But what happens when this evidence comes out of the mouth of someone more reputable or credible.  Navy pilots, military ship personnel, sea captains, astronauts. Buzz Aldrin perhaps? There are many accounts of sightings of unidentified flying objects.  Of the more notable cases, posted by NBC news Sept. 19 2019, is where the U.S. Navy released 3 different videos ranging from 2004-2015, known as the “2004 Nimitz Incident” the “Gimbal” video and “Go Fast” video all showing “unidentified aerial phenomena” or  “Anomalous Aerial Vehicles” (AAV’s) as the Navy likes to call them. However, since we cannot confirm what any of these objects are and since we are unable to put any tangible physical evidence in our hands, does this still count as not being evidence? If this is the case, I guess we should refer to multiple religions as paradoxes as well.  For humans, what we cannot hold in our hands or see with our eyes or taste with our tongues can be extremely hard if not impossible to believe.  

I could go on all day with examples of extraterrestrial existence from, just our planet, using hundreds if not thousands of sources but the truth of the matter is, as long as we don’t have a small green man fall from the sky and land in our laps chances are humans will always be skeptical of the existence of extraterrestrial life.  Even if we did have an E.T. fall from the sky (wink wink Roswell), some “man in black” would swoop in and cover it up but that, ladies and gentlemen, is a different topic for a different day.  

Gillian Crawford’s “Contemporary Impact of the fates of Confederate Officials” is an informative piece using historical excerpts from the Civil War to effectively establish the background as to why confederate monuments that were erected, still stand and how the decisions from past leaders are affecting Americans today.  Gillian then goes on to talk about the contemporary impact of those decisions. This paper explains how Confederate Monuments and statues, while coming from a place of forgiveness and healing, have been “repurposed by white supremacists” and are therefore linked to white supremacy and racism and face the threat of removal.  Within the reading two different arguments are addressed. Should the monuments stay? Or should the monuments fall

The author begins by using a lot of factual civil war examples to pain a picture of how the monuments came to stand in the first place. She then goes on to speak on the background of prominent confederate figureheads and informs us on their involvements and how they relate in today’s society. Lastly, Gillian identifies points for and against keeping or removing the monuments

Those that read this paper will most likely have their own opinions on the subject matter, even before reading, but can at least learn more on the subject and may alter their own beliefs by seeing different ideas.  Everything the author cites appears to be factual information but tends to be a tad bit boring. A large mass of the paper could be cut out from the beginning and would still send the message across. However, I feel that more information could have been put in about the current issues facing confederate monuments with more examples from across our country.  

All in all, the author effectively addresses the conflict of confederate monuments in today’s climate.  She poses questions to keep readers thinking, even after they’ve finished reading. Even though the article starts off at a slow roll, by the end readers minds should be sparked to think about what they believe America’s best course of action would be in deciding the fates of confederate officials.  

Thesis: ” Why, over 150 years after the Civil War, is there an explosion of violent and overt controversy over inanimate statues?” This can be found almost halfway through the paper. Most thesis can usually be found at the end of the introductory paragraph but I believe the author placed it down in the Contemporary Impact section of the article because she wanted to properly educate the readers with some short history examples from the times.

Target Audience: Everyone! Anyone that might have an interest in this topic will probably read this article after glancing at the title. Readers will most likely read the article to get better informed or at least to read about the authors opinion on what she believes the Contemporary impact on Confederate officials.

Logos: The author uses lots of cites from different historical episodes using various figure heads from the Civil War including President Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis. Many of the history lessons given are in the beginning of the article and the examples from today are towards the end.

Ethos: In the same sense as logic, Gillian Crawford establishes authority through citing specific examples and quotes to provide as much educational information to the readers as possible. There is no specific point to be made, from what I could tell, but more an establishment of informative statements from both sides of the isle on the issue of Confederate statues in today’s world.

Pathos: The readers can form their own opinions from the information given. Everything the author cites appears to be factual information that might give more insight to the readers before they form their opinions or that could alter their mindset on any prior opinions.

All in all I do not believe this paper is an argument in one direction or another but more of an educational piece full of history, quotes, facts and figureheads to help person’s form their own reasonings and opinions.