if you ain't first, you last.

I would definitely trust McKay's ideas about American society's idiosyncrasies after watching Borat and Talladega Nights. These films really illustrate so many things about what's right and wrong with America. These movies and others about the average and not-so-average American lifestyle pick out and make a show out of the silly and backward things we do that we never think about outside of our own perspective. I think American culture in movies is obsessed with our rampant commercialism, general themes of a sexual nature, and generally low emotional and moral aptitude. We pay for water in bottles, go out of our way to idolize the the Pamela Andersons of our generation, watch cars drive in ovals and call it a sport, and hate our day jobs. These are probably the most glorious of traits as a nation, but instead things that are undoubtedly American. We're proud of what makes us unique, not necessarily successful. Americans don't need any help feeling national pride, so the things that set us apart become the things that matter most (and the easiest things to make fun of.)

most buzzkill movie experience, ever.

          It was senior year of high school when I found out that there was a theater on Inwood in Dallas that had a room that had no reclining stadium seats - but only LoveSac chairs, ottomans, pillows, and all the fixings of a great relaxing movie watching-experience. I was erally excited to get down there and try it out. At the time I was pretty into the indie movie scene and limited releases, so when I saw they had Boy in the Striped Pajamas, I very vaguely knew what it was about but I bought two tickets. I dragged along my now-fiance and he was excited at the prospect of a good movie but moreso comfy seats. The disappointment started at entry. There was only one screening per night in the LoveSac theater, and it wasn't ours. We sighed, and moped over to the theater where our movie was going on.
          If you haven't seen Boy in the Striped Pajamas, don't. While it won a slew of awards, it was horrifyingly sad, comlpetely depressing, and the worst date movie in history. It's a Holocaust piece, the good people die, and the seats were not LoveSacs. Not cool.

preparation and changes

         For this last paper, my style of preparation to write, prewrite, and take notes was more unique. I don't think I have ever sat and observed a space alone, with my laptop, writing fragments, and coming up with a very very rough draft to start. I'm someone who usually takes a lot of time and effort for the first time I write a paper because I don't like looking at things that are going to require future closure. Taking notes of just a few words at a time was difficult, and going back later and attempting to add meaning to little blurts I thought were worth mentioning was difficult. I look forward to an assignment about moves because of the more concrete nature of the art. If I feel like I missed something, I can pause it, rewind it, fast forward it, and get to the part I need to far more expeditiously. I can watch what I observe over, and over again to catch the small details and nuances of characters that I might have missed while trying to rush through and catch plot changes. I am also pretty thrilled I will have a reason to hang on to my Netflix subscription for just one more month. With a wealth of documentaries and quite a few on my instant queue, I can have a chance to catch a new movie for a fresh perspective on things instead of drawing on my experiences seeing a movie when I was younger with the assumptions I held back then.

final draft: author's note

          I was really pretty exited about how this turned out. My final draft is complete, and since there were not very many comments or revisions submitted through workshopping, I turned to the other first-person sources I could refer to. I sent the draft I had to the people closest to me that have also experienced the trail system to get a little feedback about what I as missing when I tried to capture the essence of the trail.  I think I originally missed out on the seasonal nature of the trail and the landscape. I added a little bit more about how there were so many people I saw on the first cool day of summer I caught - and tried to imagine how the trail will look in a few weeks when the leaves change and how quiet the trail will sit when it rains, snows, or with any other inclement weather event.  I also wanted to get in a solid conclusion and really put out an argument for why I love the trail and why other people should (hopefully) feel the same. I made a big proofreading effort, and I tried to diversify my sentence structure from the repetitive nature it had before.

feedback and ch-ch-changes

    The workshop we did for Thursday's class was mostly helpful for my own essay by way of reading others. I get a lot of my inspiration for writing from others and editing goes about the same way. I see patterns in grammatical styles and sentence structures and it makes me want to write that way. My mom was a high school English teacher before I was born, and she teaches elementary school now - and I didn't really realize how much that affected my writing style and editing habits until college. I am far from being a great writer with handbook-verified grammatical skills, but I think genetics definitely help. There was only one workshop edit on my document with a few comments about how I described the trail in context and furthering my argument about why I use it. I expanded a little bit on why I think other people use y favorite trail and I intend to proofread several more times with a fine-toothed comb. Maybe I'll throw in some more of mom's favorite editing tools for the next round of workshopping:

first draft & author's note

Author’s Note:
Obviously, this piece is very much a work in progress as related to its length and grammatical accuracy. Either way, the goal of this piece is to make an argument for the inviting nature and curious juxtaposition of my favorite mountain biking spot in the area. I would hope that readers would want to further explore this space, take up a new outdoors hobby, or just become aware of its meek existence.             The context of this piece is one of exploration of a new hobby, new place, and new attitude as they are altered by just a dirt trail in Corinth. I enjoyed the observation process at this place because it really allowed me to step out of the role I usually assume there. I had to watch dozens of cyclists and runners go by as I typed away on my laptop, feeling very out of place. My rhetorical exploration of the space turned out to nicely parallel my physical exploration of the trail, and the allusions from one to the other didn’t stop there. Several things like the children playing sports helped me draw parallels to my own life and attitude about the space and sport. Sometimes this piece may come off as a little ‘stream-of-consciousness’ and that’s because mountain biking feels that way, too. This sport is about being in the moment, and using as little forethought as possible to make the experience more exciting. I chose this space because it’s probably unique to me. It’s also a new place in my life, and one that holds significance to me as the beginning of a new chapter.

Draft 1:
          North Texas has so many cities named after planes and prairies and the landscape around here does little to disprove this geographical assumption. As a college student with a limited gas budget and a newfound passion for mountain biking, a logistical issue with finding places to pursue my new hobby persists. I really love the youthful feeling of freewheeling over hills and under trees, but there is only so far I can drive to find those things at my beginner-friendly level. Just a half-hour drive down Interstate 35 will land you somewhere near Corinth, Texas. This community calls itself the “Gateway to Success” and my success came in various levels while attempting to mountain bike at my favorite spot right next to City Hall. Just a few years ago, the city of Corinth built and maintained this seven-mile loop of mixed-use trail that sits in between a number of other civic facilities. This city of only about twelve thousand embraces the outdoor lifestyle, as shown by this tucked-away haven in the middle of city life.

            There’s not a road sign or directional map when people arrive to the Corinth City Hall Trail. You exit 35, turn left, park, and you are there. A very non-descript opening in the wooded area that surrounds the City Hall parking lot invites exploration from everyone walking by. Sunlight leaks down between the tree cover throughout the first section of trail, taking off the mysterious edge of what lies beyond. Even just the parking lot scene makes the argument that this place is something special for the outdoors enthusiasts. More than half of the cars at City Hall have no business to handle with the City of Corinth, but they seem to have a few things in common: bike racks on their cars without bikes, running shoes and water bottles littered throughout the vehicle, and various car decals promoting their affiliations with bike clubs, conservation authorities, and more. A steady flow of cyclists, runners, walkers, hikers, and the occasional curious passer-by frequent this opening on a gloriously cool Texas day like this one. After a brutal summer, most of the surrounding grass is still slightly yellowed, but one recent brief storm gave this ground just enough help to firm up for good traction. Traction doesn’t really seem too important until you strap on the helmet and take the first turn into the woods. One steep drop and rise will kick anybody back into survival mode.

            The juxtaposition of these trails between a few key spots in Corinth gives it character.  City Hall on the entrance side of the trail argues a civic edge and an official nature. These trails were not an accident or act of nature, they were an investment and a source of civic pride. Trail maintenance is a topic on City Council meeting agendas, and a few cycling clubs call this loop of dirt paths their home. The only other thing you can see from the parking lot is Denton County’s new railway system for public transit. Parallel to the rail line is a sidewalk that stretches the entire distance, perfect for cyclists less than accustomed to cruising amongst traffic on the streets. The “Rails and Trails” is a perfect lead-up to the trailhead here; It is just a continuation of the fitness-geared escape the trails provide. My personal favorite part of the trail is the third boundary that the city provides. Dozens of youth athletic fields make up most of the back part of the trail, and every quarter of a mile or so of the trail pops out to see kindergarteners playing football or a herd of kids chasing a soccer ball. Too often I go into the trails with a mission in mind (go faster, take turns better, be more confident) and lose the real reason why I mountain bike. I cycle because it’s fun. Flying down hills and taking reckless turns is probably one of the most rejuvenating activities I participate in, and seeing kids with the same innocent attitude toward their hobby gives me that feeling back. Some of the most interesting people to watch fly down the trails were the parents who would slip away from a child’s soccer practice to hit the trails, but every time it popped out onto the fields, they would pause just for a moment to catch their kid make a play.

            The other thing I really enjoy about this space is they way people move through it. The course starts and ends at the same place in the non-descript opening in the corner of the parking lot. Most people, without direction, seem to move the same way through the winding dirt path, so on no occasion that I have been there, ridden there, or observed, have I seen a collision. The mutual respect that cyclists and runners share creates a feeling of camaraderie and common purpose on the trails. From any point of observation, you can hear a faint “on your left” or “right behind you” from a few hundred yards out. The only place in the trails that requires riders to move in the same direction is a single-track section infamously named “Thrasher’s Maze.” Trasher’s is marked with a dilapidated sign no bigger than a sheet of paper and a one-way sign that looks as if it was stolen from the adjacent street. It’s not one-way because they said so, it’s one-way because it is a heinous course if attempted backwards. Very short, steep drops make this not only a great challenge to cyclists but a great source of entertainment for observers on the sports fields.  Thrasher’s Maze would be my choice for anybody looking for a couple of new colorful vocabulary words or some first-aid training practice. On an evening walk or leisurely trail run, the maze has copious amounts of tree cover and a comfortable amount of hills to make for a innocuous workout. It looks easy enough, but the amount of hills that various levels of cyclists can be seen walking their bikes up and the amount of trees that fall victim to human collisions tell the story of a quiet enemy.

obituary: ryan dunn

          Ryan Dunn of MTV's Jackass franchise died in a horriffic car accident in June of 2011. A Philadelphia paper wrote an Obituary on the 34-year-old that was less than a celebration of a short life ended too soon than a review of past misjudgments. They make several evaluative arguments by noting "Mr. Dunn's reputation for bad driving" and an occasion where he "once flipped a car eight times into oncoming traffic with Mr. [Bam] Margera inside." They discuss his friendship with his best friend as "enduring, if hazardous to their health." The claims made about Ryan Dunn in this article were poorly timed, just 2 days after his death and 1 day after they could confirm his identity due to the particularly violent nature of the accident. Claims made by the Inquirer of his "daredevil streak" and his making a "career out of cheating death" were only supported by legal evidence of tickets and movies. Such claims without personal evidence, interview, or any personal relationship without Dunn were out of place in such a strongly worded piece. No matter teh nature of the death or career history, nobody is perfect and I don't think anybody would wnt him to be rememberes in that fashion.

 Obituary: Ryan Dunn/'Jackass' star killed in suburban Philadelphia car crash

but what does it mean?!

          I'm a native of Plano, not too far from Corinth, but far enough that I needed to outsource a little bit to draw some inferences on the meaning of this space the the community. Conveniently enough, the trail head is in the corner of the parking lot of Corinth City Hall. I figured if anybody knew a little bit more, they did. I found enough friendly-looking civic workers and pamphlets to get some answers:
          The trail sits in between 3 really key parts of a Corinthian's life. Obviously City Hall represents an important facet of their community, and also an unusual starting place for a multi-purpose trail. City Hall represents law, responsibility, and duty in this community. Directly behind this building and bordering the back half of the trail system is a series of soccer fields, football fields, and baseball diamonds. This one one of my favorite parts of riding during afternoon hours. If you're taking your ride too seriously, try to keep that going after watching a herd of kindergartners try to play football.  It's a great part of the trail to remember the youthful feeling you get flying down hills and not being quite the best at what you're doing but having fun with it anyway. The final border of the park is the new Denton County transit project "Rail Trail", literally sidewalks bordering their entire light rail track. Corinth is working pretty hard to meet the fitness and health needs of their community in all of these active ways.

experiences of observation

          I finally got out to my observation site by the end of last week when the weather finally got beautiful. I usually start my mountain biking route at the parking lot next to the courthouse, but my favorite part is right after the first major rise and fall of the trail (not to discount how terrifying that first free-fall is and the white-knuckle ninja grip I have on my handle bars on the way back up). After that first event, you can see almost all of the other important parts of the trail. On this particular day, I'm seeing a lot more people here than usual. I started riding here on a 106 degree day, so the weather is starting to bring out the less masochistic athletes of North Texas. There's a good mix of runners, walkers, hikers, mountain bikers, and dog walkers. Larger dogs in particular seem to be getting a big kick out of this trail, the first house you encounter after the first hill either really loves tiny terriers that look the same or they might breed them. Either way, there's probably about 8 of 9 yapping dogs flying across the yard with every passing bike, just hoping to catch a sniff. The dogs passing the yard give ever-so-slightly threatening looks and seem to pick up with the clip they were trotting along at. The humans all move through this space in a pretty similar fashion, though. There's a right way and a wrong way for hikers and cyclists; they move in opposite ways as to not create more collisions than already occur. This is true for all of the course except for one part.
          Thrasher's Maze is a really intimidating name for a quiet little trail in Corinth, but with my pretty insubstantial 5 weeks of training, even I can handle it. It's a single track and very tightly wound section of the park, and most often where you would find me hanging sideways on a tree or walking my bike up and down a steep drop. On this day, people seem to be experiencing Thrasher in the same way that I usually do. There's some successful turns and winds, but also a good amount of yelling, some colorful vocabulary, and unfortunately a little bit of dirt-eating. I'm looking forward to a few more days like that at the trail with the weather so bearable.

corinth city hall trail

          Well, it was a pretty big stretch when I clipped my shoes in to my road bike the first time. If you haven't clipped shoes into bike pedals before, it is terrifying. Get on a moving object with the potential to break bones and attach yourself to it. Pretty counter-intuitive, right? I fell at least 10 times just on my own street, spinning at less than 2 miles per hour. It's been a while since I have made friends with the pavement on my bike now, and I have moved on to new clips, bikes that should hit the ground less, and slightly more protective helmets. My two years of road cycling mastery are a victory in my "learning-new-things" column.
          I'll preface this by saying that I don't like being new or incompetent at things. Same reason I don't particularly enjoy bowling or chess. When my boyfriend and fellow triathlete pals pushed me into considering purchasing my first mountain bike, I didn't even give it a chance. Why would I attach myself to a bike that is probably going to hit trees and rocks at higher velocities? I wouldn't. Conversation over (I thought.) My friends know me a little better than I thought, as soon as I was exposed to the world of shiny pink mountain bikes with matching gloves and neon gear, I couldn't pass it up. This could be the only sport where I could ride a pink bike and simultaneously look pretty hardcore. One week later, I owned a shiny pink mountain bike, matching gloves, and an appropriately safe helmet for my impending ER visit.
          My associates decided this seemingly sketchy 5.6 mile trail behind the City Hall of Corinth, TX was to be the scene of the accident. I was nothing short of terrified. One short drop and gain, and I was ready to turn around, but after that first turn, a little barn. One more turn, 8 puppies in one yard. I didn't know where this trail was going, or if I would leave it alive that day. I had a new appreciation for the unplanned yet intentional nature of the winding single-track and the feelings of being twelve and flying down the street with a playing card clipped on to your bike to sound like a motorcycle. That's mountain biking. That's pretty much the only place I ever ride my mountain bike, and it feels new every day I go back. It's tucked away off of I-35E, somewhere between chaos and tranquility; completely open to the public, but closed off from self-doubt. I could definitely use some more time on those beautiful trails now that the weather is this perfect to analyze the arguments nature makes against my probably short-lived mountain biking career.