The Guy
I don't know if there is anyone famous in my family. I really don't. I do know that there are some cool people in my family. This first guy is really cool. And the reason I refer to him as a 'guy' is that I actually can't track down his relation to me. All I know is that he is my uncle's (the one that's not related to me by blood) brother's cousin or something ridiculous like that. Anyway, this long-lost relative lives in Cali and he is a genius supposedly, although I've never met him to verify this fact. You see, at my aunt and uncles' house (previously mentioned) there are dozens of pictures of different space satellites and lunar rovers and other vehicles. And on the shelves are little models of those same crafts. This is because this guy was one of the primary engineers for the Voyager II or whatever that apparently went to Saturn and took all these spectacular pictures and space-dust samples. (And the reason they have all that stuff in their house and I don't is because they are directly related because of my not-bloodline uncle is their dad)
So I really want to meet this guy some day and I think if I did, I would have met the most famous guy in our family.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Mar 27th Blog Posting
Putting together my Mini-Ethnography
Although I haven't given a lot of thought about how I am going to put together my mini-ethnography, I think I am going to organize it based on theme. I might start by giving some introduction to Frisbee golf, like maybe some history or some personal stories. I think next it would be appropriate to go into detail about the rules of disc golf so that my readers will be able to better connect with what they are about to read. After the disc golf rules section, I may throw in some of those stories that I found in articles about other people's disc golf experiences. And, at that point my readers will be fairly comfortable with disc golf and many peoples experiences, but I'd like to cement that comfort with a few of my interviews. Now they will be ready for my in depth studies and research. This will be the longest part of my study I am guessing and this is where I will go into great detail about the reason I am doing this study and all the different important aspects of disc golfing. I will be exploring the physical and mental advantages of a relaxing game of Frisbee golf. I still have a lot of research to do and quite a few interviews to complete. And I still have a lot of work to do, but when I am done I hope that I will have put together a strong composition!
Although I haven't given a lot of thought about how I am going to put together my mini-ethnography, I think I am going to organize it based on theme. I might start by giving some introduction to Frisbee golf, like maybe some history or some personal stories. I think next it would be appropriate to go into detail about the rules of disc golf so that my readers will be able to better connect with what they are about to read. After the disc golf rules section, I may throw in some of those stories that I found in articles about other people's disc golf experiences. And, at that point my readers will be fairly comfortable with disc golf and many peoples experiences, but I'd like to cement that comfort with a few of my interviews. Now they will be ready for my in depth studies and research. This will be the longest part of my study I am guessing and this is where I will go into great detail about the reason I am doing this study and all the different important aspects of disc golfing. I will be exploring the physical and mental advantages of a relaxing game of Frisbee golf. I still have a lot of research to do and quite a few interviews to complete. And I still have a lot of work to do, but when I am done I hope that I will have put together a strong composition!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Glossery of Disc Golf Terms
Terms:
Ace: A hole in one, the disc lands in the basket on the first try
Air-Bounce: One's drive starts out flying low and straight and slowly raises higher off the ground as it flies forward
Approach: A shot that is not short enough to be a putt, but is far enough to be considered a throw toward the basket
Basket: the target that a disc golfer aims for. A metal basket with chains dangling above it to assist with scoring
Birdie: getting the disc in the basket in one shot less than par (see par)
Bogey: getting the disc in the basket in one shot greater than par (see par)
Disc: the slender round object used in disc golf, similar to an ultimate disc
Double-Bogey: getting the disc in the basket in two shots greater than par (see par)
Drive: the first long shot on a disc golf hole
Eagle: getting the disc in the basket in two shots less than par (see par)
Fairway: the space between the hole and the tee
Par: the score (number of shots) that neither helps nor hurts your score (+/- 0)
Putt: a short, controlled throw that attempts to land in the basket
Slice: when your drive or approach cuts violently to the right and dives toward the ground
Tee: the area that you stand when you throw your drive (see drive)
Tomahawk: a throwing style in which you throw the disc over-hand causing the disc to fly up in the air and flip over itself, hopefully landing near the target
Triple-Bogey: getting the disc in the basket in three shots greater than par (see par)
Ace: A hole in one, the disc lands in the basket on the first try
Air-Bounce: One's drive starts out flying low and straight and slowly raises higher off the ground as it flies forward
Approach: A shot that is not short enough to be a putt, but is far enough to be considered a throw toward the basket
Basket: the target that a disc golfer aims for. A metal basket with chains dangling above it to assist with scoring
Birdie: getting the disc in the basket in one shot less than par (see par)
Bogey: getting the disc in the basket in one shot greater than par (see par)
Disc: the slender round object used in disc golf, similar to an ultimate disc
Double-Bogey: getting the disc in the basket in two shots greater than par (see par)
Drive: the first long shot on a disc golf hole
Eagle: getting the disc in the basket in two shots less than par (see par)
Fairway: the space between the hole and the tee
Par: the score (number of shots) that neither helps nor hurts your score (+/- 0)
Putt: a short, controlled throw that attempts to land in the basket
Slice: when your drive or approach cuts violently to the right and dives toward the ground
Tee: the area that you stand when you throw your drive (see drive)
Tomahawk: a throwing style in which you throw the disc over-hand causing the disc to fly up in the air and flip over itself, hopefully landing near the target
Triple-Bogey: getting the disc in the basket in three shots greater than par (see par)
Thursday, March 19, 2009
American Tongues
(Question 1)
It seemed like they were asking different questions to different people in the various areas. (This may be because we only watched clips...) It would also have been nice if they had thrown in a little history of where all these accents came from or when then first came up.
(Question 2)
Obviously there are some groups that aren't represented at all, but it would be impossible to represent EVERYONE. I did realize that the documentary seemed to seek out the 'extreme' accents, like kentucky, texas, and northestern. However, then seemed to graze over those who had only a slight accent.
(Question 3)
Language is VERY important to how we judge others. It's probably one of the first impressions that we get of a person; even before we interact with them we have already made some assumptions about them based on how they talk to other people.
It seemed like they were asking different questions to different people in the various areas. (This may be because we only watched clips...) It would also have been nice if they had thrown in a little history of where all these accents came from or when then first came up.
(Question 2)
Obviously there are some groups that aren't represented at all, but it would be impossible to represent EVERYONE. I did realize that the documentary seemed to seek out the 'extreme' accents, like kentucky, texas, and northestern. However, then seemed to graze over those who had only a slight accent.
(Question 3)
Language is VERY important to how we judge others. It's probably one of the first impressions that we get of a person; even before we interact with them we have already made some assumptions about them based on how they talk to other people.
The Collaborative Listener: 3 Questions
1. I am at the Frisbee golf course near my house, Morse Park & Beach. I am walking down one of the fairways with a few of my buds from my youth group as well as my youth minister. As far as my relationship with these guys, we are all very close friends. But, in the moment, we are all a bunch of disc golf enthusiasts, playing mostly for the fun of it while maintaining slight traces of competition.
2. Some of what we say includes typical sports phrases like "nice shot!" and "Take your time, focus on this one" or even "Damn it! I hate this game!" However, most of our conversation is just friendly conversation that has nothing to do with disc golf. We just talk and laugh and have an enjoyable time, and that is what makes the game so fun. There isn't much of a power relationship between any of the guys and me, but my youth minister is older and I guess there's some sort of power relationship there.
3. I guess all the guys are speaking pretty normally when we play. Maybe if one of them is teeing off and is trying to focus he'll speak softly to himself words of encouragement like: "focus... keep it low... don't put too much behind it..." Often times I find myself sort of commentating my game, either to myself or to the others. Things like "come on, I gotta make this for par. Come on baby... come on!" and then if I miss I'll be like "AWWWWWWW man! Gosh I should have made that!"
2. Some of what we say includes typical sports phrases like "nice shot!" and "Take your time, focus on this one" or even "Damn it! I hate this game!" However, most of our conversation is just friendly conversation that has nothing to do with disc golf. We just talk and laugh and have an enjoyable time, and that is what makes the game so fun. There isn't much of a power relationship between any of the guys and me, but my youth minister is older and I guess there's some sort of power relationship there.
3. I guess all the guys are speaking pretty normally when we play. Maybe if one of them is teeing off and is trying to focus he'll speak softly to himself words of encouragement like: "focus... keep it low... don't put too much behind it..." Often times I find myself sort of commentating my game, either to myself or to the others. Things like "come on, I gotta make this for par. Come on baby... come on!" and then if I miss I'll be like "AWWWWWWW man! Gosh I should have made that!"
Mar. 19th Week 9 Posting
Reflections:
I think the hardest part for me so far has been research. Because disc golf is a relatively new sport, there isn't a lot of literature out there about it. I was fortunate however to discover a few blogs last class that will be very helpful! The easiest part so far has probably been the first exploring subculture paper that we wrote. It was easiest because all I had to do was pull facts, rules, and customs out of my head concerning Frisbee golf. Now that I have gotten into the research stage, it's becoming more difficult to back those things from my head up with actually accounts from other people. If I had to start over, honestly, I wouldn't have chosen Frisbee golf as my subculture. I guess at the beginning I just assumed that it was popular and that there would be lots of stuff out there for me to use in my paper. But, looking back I realize that that was kind of the point and now I have a great opportunity to learn even more about the sport while I introduce it to others well. Having the blog has helped me by being a good place for me to just throw down ideas in my head that maybe aren't quite final-draft-worthy yet. And, having these things down is helpful because, from there, all I have to do is go back to them and then organize them into a paper. By the time it comes to writing my final mini ethnograpy, I will have mountains of information on my blog, ready and at my disposal. It will come very much in handy!
I think the hardest part for me so far has been research. Because disc golf is a relatively new sport, there isn't a lot of literature out there about it. I was fortunate however to discover a few blogs last class that will be very helpful! The easiest part so far has probably been the first exploring subculture paper that we wrote. It was easiest because all I had to do was pull facts, rules, and customs out of my head concerning Frisbee golf. Now that I have gotten into the research stage, it's becoming more difficult to back those things from my head up with actually accounts from other people. If I had to start over, honestly, I wouldn't have chosen Frisbee golf as my subculture. I guess at the beginning I just assumed that it was popular and that there would be lots of stuff out there for me to use in my paper. But, looking back I realize that that was kind of the point and now I have a great opportunity to learn even more about the sport while I introduce it to others well. Having the blog has helped me by being a good place for me to just throw down ideas in my head that maybe aren't quite final-draft-worthy yet. And, having these things down is helpful because, from there, all I have to do is go back to them and then organize them into a paper. By the time it comes to writing my final mini ethnograpy, I will have mountains of information on my blog, ready and at my disposal. It will come very much in handy!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Mar 17 In-Class Research Question
Why do my readers care about this issue?
If I may speak in generalities, everyone is looking for something new and fun to try! I think that most people who enjoy the outdoors and are open-minded about trying new sport will come to love disc golf.
What will my readers want or need to know about this issue?
I guess my readers should know that disc golf is very addicting and should not be played unless you are ready to continue playing frequently for the rest of their lives.
What do my readers already know about this issue?
Most of the people I've talked to already have had no idea what disc golf is! I think most of my readers will be clueless before reading my little ethnography.
If I m trying to persuade my readers of something, how easily will they be persuaded?
I have a feeling that most of them will just read it and brush it off. But I may be able to persuade some of them to join the fun.
What will my readers use my writing for?
They will use my writing to find inspiration to buy a frisbee disc and start playing disc golf!
If I may speak in generalities, everyone is looking for something new and fun to try! I think that most people who enjoy the outdoors and are open-minded about trying new sport will come to love disc golf.
What will my readers want or need to know about this issue?
I guess my readers should know that disc golf is very addicting and should not be played unless you are ready to continue playing frequently for the rest of their lives.
What do my readers already know about this issue?
Most of the people I've talked to already have had no idea what disc golf is! I think most of my readers will be clueless before reading my little ethnography.
If I m trying to persuade my readers of something, how easily will they be persuaded?
I have a feeling that most of them will just read it and brush it off. But I may be able to persuade some of them to join the fun.
What will my readers use my writing for?
They will use my writing to find inspiration to buy a frisbee disc and start playing disc golf!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Theme Mar 5th Posting
I at first was finding it very difficult to find an all-encompassing theme for my ethnographic study of disc golf. I decided that, at least from what I have observed and from my experiences, disc golf is about community. Particularly my community of friends I have built while here at school. When I go to play disc golf, I rarely do it alone. The best part is being there with friends and having those experiences that build those relationships. It's the game of disc golf that acts as the catalyst for those relationships that I have created and started to build on and off the disc golf course. Also it's the community that influences my game and helps me gain experience. Another thing is that I get to witness my friends in an environment that I previously have not seen. It is interesting to see how new friends respond to different emotions like competition or challenge.
All of these things bring to mind the importance of community not only in disc golf and sports, but also with many other things in life. Community creates the base for me to have a more enjoyable round of disc golf!
All of these things bring to mind the importance of community not only in disc golf and sports, but also with many other things in life. Community creates the base for me to have a more enjoyable round of disc golf!
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