Sick Starbucks Ad

I stumbled upon this example of a twist on visual and verbal rhetoric in class and decided it would be a good discussion for the blog. While this artist's taste is in question, it is interesting to see how such a horrific photograph can be manipulated into something of humor. Now, I'm not sure how many of us actually find this humorous, I certainly do not. But it was definitely the artist's intent to make light of the situation presented in the photograph.

The "Make a New Friend" tagline is also quite ironic. Coffee or a gun, if either were shoved in my face, I wouldn't look at it as an act of friendship. Needless to say, the whole ad is a sick joke... but a good manipulation of a historic photograph.

African American Sprituals (Response to Negro Spiritual Posting)

On the first day of visual and verbal rhetoric class we watched a portion of the August Wilson Play, The Piano Lesson. We watched, in particular, a scene where the male characters in the play were sitting at a table singing a song. The song that they were singing is called Berta Berta (short for Alberta). Berta Berta is classified as a work or "chain gang" song. The song itself is conceptually about a woman and a man who is away (working on a chain gang) and "singing to her." There was some confusion around it being classified as a Spiritual as well as what a Spiritual actually is. A Spiritual or African American Spiritual (formerly “Negro” or “Old Negro Spirituals”) is, as most people know, a genre of music that originated during the era of enslavement. [1] “Spirituals in their purest form evolved out of the enslavement experience of African Americans.” They were, in a sense, marks of the struggle and they were developed and sung by African Americans while working on plantations and later moved into churches.

I did watch the video Amazing Grace/Whitley Phipps (please find youtube link at bottom of page). Neither the video nor the song that he eventually sang was something that exemplified an African American Spiritual. Although the discourse was somewhat informative it also, in some cases, projected some general ignorance as well. The speaker included some history about enslavement as well as some general background information on the pentatonic scale and how Spirituals were built on them. The song Amazing Grace, however, is not actually a Spiritual. It’s a hymn. Phipps, himself also mentions that. He goes on to state that it was written by a white man – John Newton who was also an enslaver. Newton was actually the captain of a ship and a leading figure in the stealing and transportation of Africans from West Africa ( a pirate). Amazing Grace, as Phipps states, is called, by some musicologist, as a “white spiritual” (which is not an actual known genre or classification of music and if there were they would not, by definition or experience, be the same as an actual Spiritual).

What Phipps did also lend to this is the information that John Newton may have heard it from the enslaved Africans that he transported. According to his research in searched records the credit is given to Newton for the lyrics but the melody is listed as “unknown.” He also states that Amazing Grace mimics a West African “sorrow chant” which would explain why it’s often played at funerals. In general it is a sad song and carries a melancholy tune.

The video and the presentation was really another exercise and discourse on Christian rhetoric, presumptions, and a play on emotions verses ethnomusicology or historical discourse. Also, in the rhetoric of Christianity Phipps pretty much pardons the atrocities of an enslaver and attempts to create a parallel and make comparable Amazing Grace to songs sung by enslaved people when they are, in actuality, two different things created for solely different and distinct purposes - a big contradiction and as sad as Amazing Grace.

Phipps, in the end, added a contemporary spin on Amazing Grace so that it no longer seemed even like a “spiritual” or the hymn that it is.

Some examples of real African American Spirituals are:

• There is a Balm in Gilead
• Sweet Low, Sweet Chariot
• Steal Away
• Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen
• Every Time I Feel The Spirit and
• Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho

http://www.africanamericanspirituals.com/

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[1] Anderson, Talmadge and Stewart, James, Introduction to African American Studies: Transdisciplinary Approaches and Implications. (Black Classic Press, 2007)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMF_24cQqT0

Hindu gods summoned to court

This story reminded me of an earlier post we had of a man attempting to "sue" God. Well, this case is more of a request for a court appearance to testify in a land dispute. What comes to my mind is a couple things. One, the scenario of someone actually appearing in court. And two, how the newspaper has become such a powerful tool that it can actually be used to summon deities.

By Amarnath Tewary Patna

The gods have many temples in their name Pic: Vivek Raj

A judge in India has summoned two Hindu gods, Ram and Hanuman, to help resolve a property dispute.

Judge Sunil Kumar Singh in the eastern state of Jharkhand has issued adverts in newspapers asking the gods to "appear before the court personally".

The gods have been asked to appear before the court on Tuesday, after the judge said that letters addressed to them had gone unanswered.

Ram and Hanuman are among the most popular Indian Hindu gods.

Judge Singh presides in a "fast track" court - designed to resolve disputes quickly - in the city of Dhanbad.

The dispute is now 20 years old and revolves around the ownership of a 1.4 acre plot of land housing two temples.

You failed to appear in the court despite notices sent by a peon and post Judge Sunil Kumar Singh in letter to Lord Ram and Hanuman

The deities of Ram and Hanuman, the monkey god, are worshipped at the two temples on the land.

Temple priest Manmohan Pathak claims the land belongs to him. Locals say it belongs to the two deities.

The two sides first went to court in 1987.

A few years ago, the dispute was settled in favour of the locals. Then Mr Pathak challenged the verdict in a fast track court.

Gift

Judge Singh sent out two notices to the deities, but they were returned as the addresses were found to be "incomplete".

Local say the temple belongs to the gods Pic: Mahadeo Sen

This prompted him to put out adverts in local newspapers summoning the gods.

"You failed to appear in court despite notices sent by a peon and later through registered post. You are herby directed to appear before the court personally", Judge Singh's notice said.

The two Hindu gods have been summoned as the defence claimed that they were owners of the disputed land.

"Since the land has been donated to the gods, it is necessary to make them a party to the case," local lawyer Bijan Rawani said.

Mr Pathak said the land was given to his grandfather by a former local king.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7132124.stm

Wow - The View on Christianity and the Greeks

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Rhetoric on a World Wide Scale

After reading about Nordies concerning Christmas and commenting on the Miracle on 34th Street, this same rhetoric on a larger platform came to mind.

The U. S. society is designed (capitalism) to seek profit. To make sure that is accomplished, it is an all out effort to democratise the world so as to put in place multinational corporations. I would like to add (in that this statement or two is so blunt, some may even say harsh), this country is not without its morals. It has been known to war for these reasons as well, but not without its back drop of democratisation that brings on the corporations which spells profits. After conquering, the U. S. has put such countries in the position where they forever more abide by, go along with, or do what the U. S. says. A case in point, I read a book called, "The Japanese That Could Not Say No." Yes, Japan has become one of the world's richest economies but at what cost. One sells products, not freedom, not self-respect, and certainly not morals.

Ten Reasons to Suspect "Save Darfur" is a PR Scam

This is an interesting article. Shows that even the rhetoric about human rights deserves a closer look. (Just providing a link below, it's a long piece).







http://www.alternet.org/audits/69170/

What's With the Last Name of "Peterson"

One of the most fascinating stories in the news lately is that of Drew Peterson and his alleged involvement in the deaths of his third and fourth wives. He is intriguing; he truly believes that putting his story on TV will prove his innocence when most of the country as already labeled him GUILTY.

Peterson reminds me of some other men, namely Scott Peterson (what a coincidence there) & O.J. Simpson, who have been accused of killing their wives. Do we really believe that his third wife's cause of death was accidental drowning? Does he really seem that upset at the recent disappearance of his fourth wife? And can we stop here for a moment and ask why his forth wife is 20 years his junior? I think Drew Peterson is as guilty as sin. I've seen multiple interviews with the guy, and he lacks credibility. He can keep telling lies and he can keep avoiding the line of sight of the people who interview him, but he will get caught sooner or later. It's amusing to watch a guy who thinks he has everyone fooled when we all know he's sweating bullets and freaking out behind that blank face.

In the case of Scott Peterson, I actually believed that guy for a time. There was something about his eyes that caused me to trust him, and he looked so distraught over his wife's death. The logos, ethos, and pathos were all working together for me when I listened to Scott. It was gut-wrenching to find out the truth. I wanted it to be someone else, but I was gravely disappointed and realized I drastically misjudged his character.

We'll see what happens to good 'ol Drew. I hope they nail his ass to the wall...the evidence is mounting! To read more, click below.

Drew Peterson on the Today Show