I have been working on and off on this paper all day (puffed pop-over oven pancakes and hot chocolate is quite distracting) and only have this much eked out.  I am just not in the writing mood.  Nor am I in a 'researching, digging through sources, making entries for the work cited page and bashing my head over in-text citations in between writing spits and spats of my paper' mood either.

Can't this just be over with?

Mah Paper wrote:

On August 5, 2010, 9th Circuit District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled in favor of the plaintiff’s case in Perry vs. Schwarzenegger, overturning Proposition 8.  Passed by California voters in November of 2008, Proposition 8 was a controversial law that banned homosexual marriage based on propaganda that allowing it would have negative, dangerous consequences for the state’s children. In his 136 page long opinion, Judge Vaughn Walker declared that Proposition 8 violated both civil and constitutional rights and did nothing more than further discriminate against homosexual couples.  There has never been any harm caused by homosexuality or homosexual marriage to United States citizens either physical, psychological, economic, and the sanctity of marriage is not something that can be identifiably ‘tarnished‘ or hurt, least of all by homosexual marriage. Therefore, Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling and decision to overturn Proposition 8 is both legally and pragmatically just. 
   
There are many ways to argue in defense of homosexual marriage and homosexuality itself.  One can demand understanding, acceptance, or even merely tolerance.  One can choose to speak from the heart and ask for a small grain of happiness and hope in an otherwise difficult and distraught world.  Often, however, heartfelt pleas such as this fall on ears deafened by a sense of righteousness that is fueled by ignorance, willful or no.  To those who rely on old stereotypes of gender and homosexuality, whose actions and world outlook are more rooted in subjective beliefs as opposed to objective reason, their voices are the heartfelt pleas for morality and purity that go unhindered.  Unfortunately, these differences in belief and attitudes concerning the intangible have a very tangible effect on the world and its people that exist outside of any one individual or group’s perspective.  The only other route for arguing in favor of homosexual marriage is that of reason, knowledge, pragmatism and truth, those same criterion that shape America’s legal system, laws and notions of justice.
   
Law is shaped by the desires and ideally by the needs of those governed. They must have a practical, if not moral, purpose.  It would stand to reason then that Proposition 8 seeks to amend California’s state Constitution so that, “Only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California” in order to circumvent some form of harm or negative consequence (“Text of Proposed Laws: Proposition 8” 128).  Proposition 8’s supporters and ad campaign certainly seem to back this sentiment.  For example, “Gathering Storm,” an infamous 2009 television commercial created in order to woo voter support for the ban uses statements such as, “There is a storm gathering.  The clouds are dark and the winds are strong,” and “I’m a Massachusetts parent helplessly watching public schools teach my son that gay marriage is okay” to imply that homosexual marriage will do some sort of vague, unspecified harm to California’s children.  Proposition 8 and those in favor of it rely on and buy into several fallacies concerning homosexuality and homosexual marriage, including the assertions that homosexual marriage is harmful to American citizens (and thus the concern for our nation’s impressionable and vulnerable children) and will tarnish the sacred name or institution of marriage.
        
There is a reason these so-called harms are not elaborated on in Proposition 8’s campaign ads or publicly by its supporters - there are none, and claims to the specific nature of them only highlight the ignorance and prejudice underlying the campaign.  But, the supporters of Proposition 8 and those among the public who are against homosexuality in general already know exactly what those supposed harms are and believe them to be credible and true.  They do not need to be said outright in order to be communicated and reinforced.  That homosexual parents are will teach their adopted children to be homosexual and that allowance of homosexual marriage itself will teach and force children to be gay.  That heterosexual marriage and the traditional gender roles that come with it are necessary to raise well adjusted, successful children.  That gay marriage will degrade the institution of marriage simply because it is different, or has been deemed sinful by a number of religious doctrines that lack any reasoning for their condemnation that are not tautologies.

I don't get why I'm so... not stuck, just so unmotivated to continue.  I have a great deal of sources all lined up, printed out and organized, and an outline for my paper to work off of.  I have another six pages to write and it's done.   Everything I need is set out on my coffee table by my laptop, waiting.  And nothing.   It's due on Thursday morning so whatever stick is up my butt needs to find itself a new home, fast.

Last edited by OnlyInThisLight (12-06-2010 04:43:35 PM)

Any Electrical Engineers here? I'm going to have to retake digital systems so some tips would be nice. Yes I know you're all humanities majors but its worth a shot.

gpink wrote:

Any Electrical Engineers here? I'm going to have to retake digital systems so some tips would be nice. Yes I know you're all humanities majors but its worth a shot.

XD I'm an engineer. What sort of tips were you wanting?

My final project in my last class is to interact with a different culture and write an essay on the experience. Anyone have some suggestions on somewhere fun and interesting I can visit to interact with a different culture? Don't want it to be "Went to the Chinese buffet..."

Pride season is over, I'm used to the senior citizen community since I volunteer at the retirement home, gyms sound interesting but a lot of them around here require a membership. Indian reservations is a very neat idea but not sure if there are any close by. I wouldn't touch 4chan with a ten foot pole.

Sorry to shoot down all your suggestions. I do like those options, some of them just aren't available to me.

Last edited by chrisb (04-28-2011 02:10:51 AM)

Go to a couple AA meetings? Or if you're younger, Al-Anon is for people who are dealing with it indirectly. Or any other self-help recovery program.

It is. But don't call around for it.

I had a similar assignment in nursing psych. You just show up. You're not required to announce yourself at an AA meeting--people will assume you're trying it out yourself. If you feel compelled to be honest when they ask, just say you're hoping to learn more about the organization. Word it a little kinder than LOL UR HOMEWORK and you'll be fine.

yuzukelly wrote:

i use the word "otaku" to refer to anime fans in america, i think the word has a less harsher meaning than it does in japan, thats why i chose to use it

Before I get to your questions, I want to critique this idea for a moment.  I've seen quite a lot of anime, but I don't feel the word "otaku" applies to me.  That's not because it's a harsh word, but because an otaku -- to me -- connotes a particular kind of anime fan.  An otaku is someone who prefers anime to other forms of entertainment, keeps up with the anime scene, perhaps prides himself or herself on knowing trivia about shows and how they're produced, goes to conventions, maybe collects merchandise, and generally devotes a large share of his or her life and attention to anime.  That doesn't make otaku bad or weird, but it does mean that anime is a major part of their identities.  That's different from being a run-of-the-mill anime fan like me -- someone who enjoys watching anime and maybe talking about it, but doesn't give anime a special pride of place over books or movies or computer programming or cooking or the manifold other ways we can entertain ourselves and relate to each other.  I think this distinction between an otaku and an anime fan is worth preserving, because the degree of commitment of an otaku deserves to be called out as something special!

1) name, age, and occupation

I'm Brian, I'm 27, and I'm a high school tutor.

2) How many years have you been . . . into anime?

Ten; I was first exposed to anime for real at 17, in my freshman year of college.

3) how was it introduced to you?

A friend of mine would send me episodes of Boogiepop Phantom, a paranormal suspense show, one episode at a time over AIM.  The show contradicted all the preconceptions I had about anime -- that it was for kids only, that it was unattractively drawn, that it couldn't tell serious stories with serious themes.  Chewing on one episode at a time, I worked myself into fervent anticipation waiting to watch the next episode and unravel the show's mysteries.  I watched a few anime that way before I finally made the leap of joining my school's anime club.

4) what keeps you [an anime fan]? (why are you still [an anime fan] now)

Well, first, there are still plenty of good anime out there -- both new shows and old ones I haven't seen yet.  I keep watching anime for the same reason I keep reading books or watching movies; the genre is inexhaustible!  But second, the friends I've made as a result of being a fan have helped keep me interested and involved in anime.  Being part of a community of fans means I'm likely to hear about good shows I haven't seen yet, in the same way that being part of a book club helps you learn what other people are reading and what you might like to read yourself.

5) has being [an anime fan] influenced your day to day life?

Very much so; most of my best friends are people I met because of anime in one way or another.  Mind you, we are friends for the same reason any two people become friends: we have an emotional rapport, we have compatible senses of humor, we trust each other -- and yes, we share at least one hobby!  But it was anime that created the social context for us to meet and engage with each other.  My life would be very different if I had dismissed anime as uninteresting!

6) also, does your life affect your ability to be an [anime fan]?

Not really.  If I were an otaku, I might answer this question differently; life can really interfere with a devoted fan's convention schedule and cut into the hours needed to stay current with the hobby.  But life doesn't affect my ability to like anime any more than it interferes with my ability to like anything else.

7) as an [anime fan], what activities do you partake in?

Well, I watch anime sometimes.  I also spend time every day on an Internet forum devoted to my very favorite anime, a forum I also help moderate.  I've gone to a few anime conventions -- though this was more because my friends were going than because I was particularly interested in the content.  I was in the anime club in college, and once I even dressed up as an anime character to be part of a skit they were putting on.  But now that I'm out of college, anime is rarely the reason I leave my apartment.

8 ) Do you feel it's easy to be an [anime fan] in america?

Yup!  The subject of anime doesn't come up that often with non-fans, and when it does, I find most people are pretty nonjudgmental about it.  Maybe people have stereotypes about anime fans, but I've never met someone who learned I like anime and decided to see me as a stereotype instead of the whole person I am.

9) If i use your survey in my paper, may i use your name? or is there a pen name you'd like me to use?

You can call me Brian, or Respondent #1, or "the douche who mods the Utena forum" -- whatever floats your boat.

10) any comments you have?

Sure.  The general point that I think I'm making in these answers is that being an anime fan is a lot like being a fan of anything else.  You find something entertaining, so you choose to spend a part of your life engaging with it and learning about it and perhaps talking about it and making friends through it.  If there's anything that makes anime different from other hobbies, it's probably the preconceptions with which people approach anime and its fans.  Calling someone a "film buff" or a "reader" gives them a kind of sheen that is absent when you call them an "anime fan" or a "gamer" -- anime is not as prestigious a form of literature as books or movies, even though a good anime can be the literary equal of a good book or movie in most other ways.  Partly these preconceptions probably come from the fact that anime is a minority hobby.  Everyone has read good books and seen good movies, literary criticism is well developed for books and movies, popular talk show hosts soliloquize about their book of the month or cheer their guest's new film -- all things that are not true of anime.  This in turn makes anime less accessible, gives stereotypes room to exist, and contributes to keeping anime a minority hobby.  Fortunately, as I said above, I've never found prejudice against fans of anime to be particularly strong in America.

Thank you so much!

Sure!  Good luck with the paper!

Ok bump time. I need to do a paper on Electroencephalography (EEG). Any good places to start? It's more on the electronics but anything would help. The 1000 page book from the med school is not helping at all.

Last edited by gpink (12-03-2011 06:00:12 PM)

yuzukelly wrote:

*dusts off thread* i hope in im the right place i dont have a specific problem, but for my english class, i am doing a research paper on american anime fans! i have a questionnaire written up...i'll paste it here in case anyone would like to answer you can also message me if you dont want to post here here we go~!

Thank you for taking my questionnaire! For my english 111 class i am writing about anime fandom in america. i use the word "otaku" to refer to anime fans in america, i think the word has a less harsher meaning than it does in japan, thats why i chose to use it

1) name, age, and occupation

2) How many years have you been otaku/been into anime?

3) how was it introduced to you?

4) what keeps you otaku? (why are you still otaku now)

5) has being otaku influenced your day to day life?

6) also, does your life affect your ability to be an otaku?

7) as an otaku, what activities do you partake in?

8 ) Do you feel it's easy to be an otaku in america?

9) If i use your survey in my paper, may i use your name? or is there a pen name you'd like me to use?

10) any comments you have?

Thank you so much!


and thats it

EDIT: forgot an important question!

why not do a comparrision between american and other countries... see if the trends are the same or different just because of location?

Thank you so much Sat!  I wanted to focus on The Human Life Amendments, Personhood amendments, and TRAP legislation (all general terms) but was having trouble finding direct sources for the stated intentions and content of the individual acts and not just discussions on them. 


Youz Batman.

Necro'd for great mathing!  And bypassing needing to take a class!
Hiraku suggested I look for help here.

So, I haven't done much math in years.  Art major and all.  I have this entrance exam that I need to pass.  I feel confident for the first level of math, but I need to try to pass the next.

And I don't even know what this means.  Any help?

   
Use the properties of exponents to simplify the expression


The answer is:
but I need to figure out how to get there.

Last edited by Iris (01-08-2013 06:51:19 PM)