Danny Loehr

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Extra Post #5

For my final post for this class I will be talking about Post Malone’s new album, Beerbongs & Bentleys. This album came out today at midnight even though it was supposed to debut a couple of months ago. When I first listen to a new album there is always that one banger that sticks out. For me that would have to be Spoil My Night featuring Swae Lee. The combination of their voices together is beautiful and I just overall love the beat he created for this song. Beerbongs & Bentleys has a total of 18 songs, including hits such as Psycho, rockstar, and candy paint. Compared to Post’s other music, this album is definitely one of his best. I still think his album Stoney is the best but this is a close second. This album is stacked with famous rapper such as G-Eazy, YG, 21 Savage, Swae Lee, Ty Dolla $ign, and Nicki Minaj. This overall creates a more diverse album and even if you don’t like Post Malone, you can definitely find someone you do like. Compared to many artist, Post Malone’s songs are on average longer. None of his songs are less than 3 minutes and his longest song is 4 minutes and 22 seconds. Some artist release songs just to get it out there but Post Malone takes his time and makes sure he likes what hes producing. Beerbongs & Bentleys is a fire album and I can’t wait till he releases more music in the future.

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Extra Post #4

This picture was taken after the Ohio State vs. Penn State game. I actually did not have tickets to the game but I ended up getting in somehow and rushed the field. The field itself was amazing and I felt so small looking out in to the stands. Before I got to the stadium I was at a bar watching the game with my family and decided to leave because OSU was down and I didn’t think they would comeback. I was wrong. I left the bar with my buddy Chris and we were on our way to Lincoln, one of the big towers outside the stadium where my other buddy lived. When we got their the game was still going on and we could hear the crowd screaming and shouting because OSU made the comeback. We knew we had to get in their somehow and we eventually did. It was pretty crazy seeing the atmosphere, this being my first time in the Shoe. Every fan was jumping with joy because of the win. I wish I could’ve experienced the whole game.  We soon made it on the field and we saw some of the players heading to the locker room. These dudes are massive compared to me and I see why it takes a ton of practice to become a college football player, especially at this level. Overall it was a fun time adventuring to the Shoe and I can’t wait to go back for an actually game!

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Extra Post #3

In this post I would like to take time and reflect on my first year here at Ohio University. If I could summarize it in one word it would be blessed. I’ve been blessed to meet such great people and have such great professors. The atmosphere at Ohio University is unlike other colleges and it feels good to be able to experience that. The campus itself is beautiful and it was honestly one of the reasons I chose to come here. The one thing that is the opposite of beautiful is my dorm. I live in Gamertsfelder Hall on east green and let me tell you it is ugly. I can’t wait to move in to a new dorm next year and not have an air conditioning unit in the window. Transitioning from 1st semester to 2nd semester was a challenge but I ended up liking 2nd semester a lot better. In 1st semester it seemed a little scary cause I wasn’t apart of any club and didn’t really know what to do with my time. 2nd semester I figured that out and got acclimated to the schey and joined different intramural sports teams. Some advice I would have for someone going to college is give it time. If at first it doesn’t seem like the right fit, push through and try and go out of your comfort zone. You never know if you’ll like something if you don’t experience it. Overall college is awesome and I’m glad I chose Ohio University. Go Bobcats!

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Extra Post #2

This past weekend I went to Numbers Fest at the Fairgrounds. This was my first time going so I was extremely excited. The lineup this year wasn’t as good as last years but it was still good in my mind. I got a one day pass for Saturday with a bunch of my buddies and it was a great time. I wasn’t interested in anyone performing Friday so why waste my money. The main people I came to see was Lil Uzi Vert and Trippie Redd. They both ended up being pretty good but the power went out for Trippie Redd twice and it kind of got him off his groove. But what really surprised me was REZZ. She is a dj from Canada and all of her beats were fire. She always wears goggles during her performances and you can see what a pair of them looks like. The atmosphere at numbers is pretty cool, seeing all these different artist and different people coming together to listen to music. The weather ended up being decent, it did not rain and it wasn’t too cold. The one thing I was disappointed about was YBN Nahmir not showing up. I was close to the front and just ended up leaving the prime stage because of it. Overall I had an awesome time at Numbers Fest and I highly recommend it to anyone. The one thing I would also recommend is having a ride home because the 5 mile walk back to campus was horrible.

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Blog Post #10

Coming in to college, english seemed like one of those classes people dreaded. For me I think otherwise. Throughout the semester my thinking, learning, and work was tested but I never thought any of it was busy work. Everything we did in class always had to do with one of the projects we were to complete. What I am most proud of is how far I have come with my writing. Constantly having to do free writes, blog post, and projects made me stronger as a writer. One thing that I could have improved on would be participating more whether thats answering questions or helping classmates during a workshop. Giving good feedback during a workshop benefits me as well as my classmates. The next steps I will take is to keep bettering my writing. Writing is used everyday, especially in jobs so I need to keep improving it by writing more. Some things I should work on in the future is my grammar and my writing style. These two things are very important for successful writing. This class has helped me in various ways, one of them being presenting. Although presenting was not the main part of this class, I feel when I did present it was a safe environment with no judgments. Practicing this made me more confident as a presenter and allowed me to practice how to share what I wrote. This class did not hinder me at all, it only helped me. The only thing I can think of being hindered is my sleep since class is at 9am.

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Blog Post #9

The reason I write is because it is required. Writing is used in all aspects of life whether its for a class, job, club, etc. Writing is not the most exciting thing and papers can get to be a little much. But sometimes writing can be freeing. Its nice sometimes to put your thoughts down on a piece of paper and take a step back from reality. When I write, it is mostly public centered. I am usually writing after I have read an article, so most of it is based off something someone else wrote. Also what I write is going to be seen by other people and edited by other people. I see private writing as a diary for example, something your’e not going to want to share with others. When Orwell says this, he is being very literal. He kind of leaves it open ended but what I think he is trying to say is writers are all different. Every writer has their own mystery and you can figure it out by reading their stuff. If a writer is lazy, or vain, or selfish, what makes them this way? George Orwell kind of gives the reader a look in to his past and what he says about it is, “I give all this background information because I do not think one can assess a writer's motives without knowing something of his early development” (Orwell). Their are tell tale signs early in someones career to whether or not they will be a great writer.

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Blog Post # 8

After reading “Why Procrastinators Procrastinate” by Tim Urban, I find myself to be a procrastinator. My brain should be dominated by the rational thinker but it is not. The instant gratification monkey comes out of nowhere and messes everything up. I feel the monkey comes out when I am doing something uninteresting to me and the rational thinker comes out in times of interest. This is just a tell tale sign of how lazy I can be. I have had many experiences with both the dark playground and the panic monster. The dark playground tends to come first, tempting me with fun stuff to do like sports, social media, and basically anything other than what I’m supposed to do. The panic monster comes out after this once I’ve realized how much time I’ve wasted. With the panic monster in full effect, I will end up getting stuff done even slower. Being a procrastinator, I am making college harder then it is. It has influence me a ton and how successful I have been. It is definitely possible to improve from where I am now considering practice makes perfect. Getting in a habit of getting stuff done will soon show in the future. Also working with other people that don’t procrastinate often will soon rub off on the procrastinator. It is important to start this now because sooner or later, something will happen that could’ve been prevented by just putting in a little extra effort. Tim Urban has very good points and I think this article could appeal to anyone, not just students.

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Blog Post #7

Reading has not always been a strong suit for me. I just am never patient enough for the book to get going. I always want something interesting to happen and could care less about useless information. If I read on my own I tend to not use reading strategies. I like to take the book as it is and just read it through without stopping myself. If I am reading anything for a class I like to highlight important sentences or words I do not know. Annotating is also something that helps me understand the text better. If you are reading from a scholarly source or a more challenging text, strategies like these will certainly help you understand it better. In the instance where you are completing a research paper, you are going to want more in depth notes to refresh your memory on harder subjects. What Rosenberg means when she says to join the conversation is to challenge your knowledge. Knowledge is a powerful thing and “talking with your professors and peers about texts can not only help you understand your readings better, but it can push your thinking and clarify your own stances on issues that really matter to you” (Rosenberg). Bouncing ideas off other people will only further your knowledge. Education is one of few things you can share with anyone. When many scholarly people come together and talk about a certain topic, their will be many viewpoints. Being exposed to many different views and not just yours will give you a better outlook on the topic. You want as many different perspectives as possible.

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Extra Post #1

In this post I would like to inform you guys about my favorite soccer team, Manchester United. Above is a gif of one of their best players, Paul Pogba. Manchester United is a club based out of England and is in the English Premier League. Compared to the MLS (Major League Soccer) the EPL is far better. The competition is greater and so is the talent. Any team in the EPL could beat a MLS team. Many players such as Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, and Luke Shaw are young players with a lot of talent. Between the ages of 20 and 25, being a part of a club this size is monumental. You have to have a lot of skill to compete at this level. Manchester United play a 4-2-3-1 formation. This mean they play 4 defenders, 2 center defensive midfielders, 3 attacking midfielders, and 1 striker. You can play what ever formation you want to, but if the team does not work together then you will fail. Their stadium is called Old Trafford, or “The Theatre of Dreams”. All home games are played here and it is usually a packed house every time. Recently Man United exited the Champions League this year. This is a league where all of the greatest teams battle it out for the trophy. Man United lost to Sevilla FC, a team based out of Spain. I hope for better outcomes next year! My dream is to go to England and watch one of their games at Old Trafford. I hope you learned a little about Manchester United and futbol in general!

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Blog Post #6

A presentation is really good when the speaker is active and engaged in what he is talking about. The speaker should talk with a lot of emotion and not read word for word on whatever visual or cards they made. A good visual can really help the audience understand a topic. Many good presentations take advantage of that and the audience will be thankful for it. When the speaker is confident on their subject, the audience is going to listen. You know a presentation is bad when the speaker does not elaborate on anything. When he or she is unprepared, it is very easy to see. The main thing I do when preparing for a presentation is understanding what I’m talking about. If you have a good grasp on your topic, you will be less nervous and can think of information on the spot. Another thing that helps me is presenting to my friends. Its good to time yourself and get feedback from people you know. You are less nervous and are able to try out things that could work for the real presentation. Standing in front of people and talking is not fun, just ask any college kid. I feel everyone is nervous when they are about to present, its natural. My hands get sweating and I can feel my heart racing. When I get nervous I stutter and lose my train of thought sometimes. Being prepared is the best thing you can do because you never know how each presentation is going to go.

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Blog Post #5

Memes can be found everywhere you go. People are using them for everything. Meme Warfare explained the impact of meme in the real world really well. Some benefits that memes bring to the table is laughter and advertising for whatever you are talking about. Some limitations with memes include putting something in a different light and showing weakness. Memes can be used in everyday conversation, but I suggest not doing that. Memes often circulate from friend group to friend group, hearing about these memes at work or at school. In the article, a study done at Texas University concluded that, “individuals who are socially isolated and more likely to be characterized as “on the fringe” have a greater chance at creating a successful meme” (Haddow). Memes make people communicate in a positive manner when it would come to a situation like this. The more socially isolated individual made this meme as his way of communicating with others. Memes may seem like they have power, but i believe they are just for fun. The only reason memes seem to have power is because people take them to seriously. They make a big deal out of nothing and overall everything just spirals downwards. Political memes are starting to be a huge thing and stuff like this can make people crazy. Certain memes about certain parties cause unwanted drama that really leads to nowhere. There will always be controversy about everything and memes are a different way to express what you think about something.

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Blog Post #4

Media literacy to me is knowing how to evaluate the media. I consider myself to be somewhat literate in the media. Being around technology everyday allows me to know it a lot better. It is important to think like a fact checker so you know if the information is actually valid. Students can very easily get caught up in fake news because we just believe what is being thrown out there. The four step process that was mentioned in the article is a good outline to test a source on its credibility. Doing this will back the source with facts and you won’t just believe it because of how you feel. Fake news is not good to spread around. It gives the wrong impression of people or a side that is not true. Emotions can be really strong and can cause a person to react negatively to news that is not real. In the article Caulfield explains that, “We try to convince students to use strong emotions as the mental trigger” (Kamenetz). Fake news often gives you a strong feeling from the start, trying to make you react. The speed of a lie spreads so quick, any type of news that provokes someones emotions will eventually get to other people. Fake news will always be around us but you just need to be educated to know what is right from wrong. Use the process to fact check your sources so you know the information being given is credible. Don’t let fake news mislead you.

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Blog Post #3

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Blog Post #2

Malcom X was a very intelligent person. He taught himself to read and write with a dictionary. He wrote over a million words just from writing every page in the dictionary. This was different from the norm where most people learned from teachers and in school. Malcom X was not able to learn this way because he was in prison. The argument the piece is trying to make from my eyes is you can better yourself no matter what. Malcom X was at rock bottom in prison but he still managed a way to better himself. The only person able to stop him from teaching himself to read and write was him. He spent hours on end reading, only getting about 4 hours of sleep. The text went on to talk about how history has “whitened” and the black man was left behind. The overall purpose of this was to get more attention on the things he believed in. The intended audience could be anyone wanting to learn about Malcom X or someone interested in learning how he taught himself to read and write. One connection that stands out for me between the Alexie piece and this piece is the dedication each individual had. They both strived for greatness and taught themselves new things when other people doubted them. Overall this piece was very interesting and I would recommend it to everyone. Despite if you do not agree with what Malcom X did, it is pretty cool to see where he came from and how he did what he did.

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Blog Post #1

My name is Danny Loehr. I am a freshman here at Ohio University from Mason, Ohio. Mason is about 30 minutes away from Cincinnati. Some interest of mine include playing sports, video games, and hanging out with friends. One fun fact also is that I am a triplet. One of them goes here with me and the other goes to UC. Throughout high school I have taken regular English and have fared pretty well in those classes. English class in high school really focused on reading text and writing about it. Being able to convey what you think in words was huge. Knowing the correct format for essays and papers was taught heavily in high school. I would say some strengths of mine have to be working with others and getting the work done. One weakness is I can be a slow reader at times. I like the content we learn about in English class and having time to write can be fun compared to doing something else. One thing I dislike about English classes is all the reading. I am so excited for this new semester and I can’t wait to learn more in this class. I expect to write a lot in this class and also read a lot. Looking at the syllabus, I also expect to understand before I judge by the end of the semester. Some goals of mine have to be getting a good grade, improving my writing, and getting to know everyone in the class.