7. Reaserch Paper Ideas

Here's my idea:

Books. Publishers decide what books get published, for example, the Harry Potter series almost didn't get published, no one thought it would sell. I could focus on the power publishers have in deciding what books reach the general public. Or I could focus on what the books they publish are teaching the population, with research including what books publishers believe are "acceptable" for each age group. Is it really an open market? Can you find any kind of book? What kind of books are rejected by publishers every year? Another focus could be on the publishers, specifically. How can one person have so much influence, deciding what we read?

(I'm much more excited about this focus, because I love the Harry Potter books and am interested in the controversy surrounding them.)
A break-off of that, I could focus on the Harry Potter books, see how they affect kids. How that's been received in the Christian world, the general population, etc. Look at arguments against and for them. Especially considering the Oprah interview J.K.Rowling just did, see what her arguments for the books are. Question: How have the Harry Potter books affected this generation? I could focus on the dichotomy of magic vs. the religious allusions in the books. Why have these books made such a big "splash"? They've been some of the most successful books, obviously J.K.Rowling is now the only billionaire writer. Why are these books so popular? Why are they so controversial in the Christian world?
(The difficulty with this idea is that it might not really be mass media based.)

I really need help first knowing if this idea has any grounding, and I need help focusing it to a topic that is plausible and reserachable. I don't know if there's a way to make it mass media based, or if books count as mass media. This topic is also very general, and I don't know if there's an argument there.

6. Rhetorical Power of Boyd K. Packer

For my General Conference analysis, I analyzed President Boyd K. Packer's talk about the sinfulness of homosexuality. I found that he used a ton of logos, defining our beliefs and God's laws. My favorite logical argument he makes is the cat story. We do laugh, but we all agree that you cannot vote on the sex of a cat, or the laws of gravity. I thought that was one of his more powerful arguments, I at least thought it was the most memorable. He was very persuasive, at least to members. Obviously, it has created a lot of uproar. There is a petition to try ad get President Packer to rescind what he said, the Church has given a statement in response saying we stand behind our doctrine, and there are Facebook© pages supporting President Packer. I do not know if this is correct, but to me, it speaks of President Packer's talk that it has caused such a stir. Granted, it's a very polarized issue, but I still believe that the power and frankness of his talk spurred on this strong reaction.

He used strong, logical examples, along with emotional examples and very authoritative sources (the scriptures) to convince us that homosexuality is not a tendency inherent in people, but a temptation given them as part of the test in this life. I believe that President Packer's frankness and logical arguments powerfully convinces us not only that homosexuality is a temptation and a sin, but give hope that the Atonement covers those tendencies, and with Christ's help, we can overcome all sinful tendencies. President Packer's talk is one of hope.

I personally love the Church's stance on this issue: it's that act that is sinful, not the thoughts. I had a friend, who was gay, ask me once why I thought it was bad, and I didn't know how to answer him. Now I do, because of the events surrounding President Packer's talk. I hope one day I will get the chance to talk to him again and explain my position with more clarity. I am very grateful for this assignment, because it made me read a Conference talk, and showed me that there is a lot to be gained from doing so. I will be reading more in the future.

5. General Conference October 2010

Some time ago, someone told me that taking notes in Conference should not necessarily mean that you write down what the speaker is saying, but what the Spirit tells you. I never tried that...I was too afraid. I'm one of those people that takes too many notes in class because I write down everything, whether or not it's important. It was even harder for me in General Conference, because everything is important, it's from the Prophet and Apostles. But this time, I decided to try it, to not write down anything but what the Spirit told me. It was hard, and I was not perfect, there are still some things that I probably didn't need to specifically write down, but it was amazing what I learned when I listened to the Spirit, how many prayers were answered. I also found that I had an easier time listening and remembering what was said, which is a strange idea. As I listened, I connected what they were saying specifically to my life; instead of some words said by someone on TV, they became a friend's advice to me, which meant that I remembered them.

So, I add my voice to President Eyring's: Listen for any word in a Prophet's talk meant specifically for you, and (I would add) listen to what the Spirit tells you. Write down what you, specifically, are meant to hear, for it will help more than anything else.

4. Writing as a Way to Find Yourself

J.K. Rowling recently agreed to hold an interview with Oprah in Edinburgh, Scotland, one of the few times she has done so. In that interview, Rowling said: "This is probably true of all writers, but I believe what I believe because of what I have written.  Ultimately, before I wrote it, what did I believe? I probably couldn't have told you." Today is class, my Writing teacher said something similar, that in writing we come to know ourselves. So this blog is about coming to know yourself through writing.

Recently, I experienced this very phenomenon. My French Horn teacher asked me why I played French Horn. She didn't accept the answers I had given her on the spot as the deepest reasons why, so she told me to go home and think about it. Since I enjoy writing, I decided to go about the assignment by keeping a blog journal about it. Every time I had a spare moment, I asked myself "Why Horn?" Whenever I had a thought, I'd write it in this blog, and over the course of five days, I found stuff out about myself through writing. I have never had that happen before, except for possibly journalling in past years, but I didn't recognize it for what it was then. It was a fantastical experience.

I wonder what it is about writing that shows us something new and exciting about ourselves...my personal belief, at least for me, is that my mind is very complicated and confusing. The act of writing something down straightens out my thoughts, makes them coherent. When that happens, I discover things that were hidden in the mess, kind of like cleaning my room. I use this idea everyday, by making lists and writing down reminders. In my house, whenever anyone has any activity or event coming up and they try to tell mom, she says, "Don't tell me, go write it on the calendar." We have a large wall calendar in the main kitchen/dining room where everyone can see it. It's common in our house to hear "go check the calendar" or "go write it on the calendar". If something is not written down, we forget it...it's happened before. I'm the same way now, on my own: if something does not get written down, I forget it. I think there are two metaphors I can make to explain this, so indulge me while I try.

The first one is the analogy of my messy and confused mind. When I think of something, if I don't write it down and straighten things out, it will get lost in the mess of my mind. I may remember that it's there and that it was maybe important, but I don't know where to start looking for it in the mess, kinda like looking for a pair of shoes in the mess of my room...writing things and ideas down help me put them in their proper place, so I can usually find them again.

The second metaphor is that of a bulletin board, and it is necessary because the first allegory is imperfect: often when I put something in its place, I forget where its place is. A bulletin board analogy fixes that. When I right stuff down, and say it, and hear it, the item gets placed on a bulletin board where I will remember to look for it. This technique is also used in my home: above the calendar, we have a white board and a bulletin board. Temporary notices and messages get put on the white board, and important papers and announcements get hung on the bulletin board. Whenever an important paper is missing, mom says "check the bulletin board", and it is usually there. The same thing applies to my mind; when I write stuff down, I organize it, and if it's important, I hang it on a proverbial bulletin board where I can remember to look for it when I'm looking for it. Often, this fake bulletin board becomes a reality when I put sticky notes on my desktop (I love the sticky notes application!)

So, writing helps me organize my mind, helps me discover things that were there all along, but that I didn't know were there. Writing something down also helps me remember it later. I had a French teacher who said "read it, write it, hear it, say it helps you remember it 10 times better" (or something like that). She was right, I remember things better when I write them down and then read them again.

Thank you for joining me as I discovered more unique things about myself!

Special thanks to the Oprah Winfrey Show, which is where the J.K. Rowling quote came from.