Video Argument Proposal #1: “Anchovies Are Good Food”
I will argue that anchovies are good food, though most people don’t think so, mostly because anchovies have a strong fish flavor, and most people prefer mild-tasting fish. I prefer strong tasting fish, and therefore would not be considered a “mainstream” fish eater. I would be considered a “tributary” fish eater.
Let me explain. In order to get our creative muses flowing, the instructor of a writing class I once took challenged students to tell three things about themselves, only two of which were true. The student’s classmates had to guess which thing the student was lying about. When it came my turn the first thing I mentioned was that I still believe in Santa Claus. Then I mentioned winning the Mega lottery. And finally I mentioned liking anchovies. No one picked believing in Santa or winning the Mega lottery (despite the fact that I was wearing cheap clothes) as the thing I was lying about. Everyone thought it was impossible that I actually liked anchovies. So, convincing folks that anchovies are good food won’t be easy.
In order to like anchovies, you have to get around some things. I already mentioned the strong taste. But they’re also real salty and gritty and come out of their tiny tins looking slimy. I will make the argument that since it’s olive oil that makes anchovies slimy, and people generally like olive oil when used in salads and other dishes, they shouldn’t hold this against anchovies.
Another thing you have to get around to like anchovies is that they come raw. It’s a fact I probably shouldn’t even bring up because most folks aren’t even aware of it.
Opponents will no doubt argue that even if you say you like anchovies, you don’t actually eat them. Instead, you eat something else – pizza for example – with anchovies on it. Though this is a technicality, some cocky opponent is bound to bring it up. To disprove this cocky opponent, I’ll actually eat an anchovy whole in my video, hopefully without gagging.
I will furthermore argue that I like the word “anchovy” because it sounds poetic. If you think about it some of the things people pick as their favorite food don’t sound very appetizing. “Steak” and “lobster” are good examples of foodstuff that not only sound tasteless, but sound revolting as well.
Another thing I probably shouldn’t get into when arguing for anchovies is word origins. My dictionary says the word “anchovy” comes from vulgar Latin, and vulgar is not something I want to suggest when trying to turn people into anchovy lovers .
Finally, I will point out that anchovies can be the source of great art, and show art that I’ve been inspired to create out of my love of anchovies.
Video Argument Proposal #2: “Two Good Reasons Why Obama Shouldn’t Act Like A Liberal”
I’m also considering creating a graphic representation of the argument I made in a letter to the editor the Columbus Dispatch recently published. Here’s a link:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2009/09/17/webletters.html?sid=101
My goal is to bring attention to the fact that despite repeated reports from the scientific community of the damaging effects climate change will have on the Earth, there are still those who discount the scientists for political, religious or other reasons.
A recent report tells of how toxins long buried under the polar ice caps will be released as the ice melts because of global warming.
We’ve also heard Sally Field say, “I have this one body..” in the Boniva commercials, and played on the oneness of Earth.
link to MP3 audio essay:
http://drop.io/2r2e2i1n/media/
There’s a popular saying, “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like.” I’ve known some pretty intelligent and educated people to repeat the saying when confronted with abstract art.
One problem is, there’s little consensus about what art is. Popular theories hold that art mimics nature (Mimetic theory), should be more concerned about design than what the artwork reprresents (Formalism theory), and that art is a status conferred by the artworld (Institutional theory).
If no one really knows what art is, how do you explain it to common people, such as those you would meet on the bus.
Below is a poem I wrote based on such an experience.
The Curator of Public Transportation
by John Reinier
Into the mandible
of inquisitive minds,
I drop exalted names
one predomination at a time.
Van Gogh is the first to go.
“Was he the best?” a lady
in a yellow dress wants to know.
She obviously expects a coronation,
right there on the ribbed black mat
rolled out for the famous Dutchman.
“As an artist, it’s hard to say,” I say.
“But as an arsonist he had no equal, ma’am.
You’ve never seen the sun lit
as brilliantly as he did it,
on a wheat field set afire.
Nor does the future hold much of a prospect,
that another artist will ever torch it
so thoroughly.”
“But he does not detract from the others.
Edvard Munch, I have to mention…,”
“Did he have the munchies?” a small girl
– with auburn hair and autumn landscape
for complexion — interrupts.
“Imagine,” I tell her, “a bird of prey
watching Chip and Dale at play,
at a game of tag around the barked barrel
of that tall tree right over there.
The dark bird swoops down, misses once,
but tries again, ending both chases forever.
In flight it gets disoriented by the light
reflecting from the front door of this bus,
coincidentally at the moment it opens.
With wings spread out, the bird alights
in the aisle up next to our driver,
still clutching the mortally-wounded pet,
now oozing what looks like red licorice,
a sight so twisted to your young eyes,
they twirl like pinwheel lollipops.
As you file out the back door of this bus
you let out a scream
heard around the metropolis.”
“Marc Chagall never dealt
with such dreaded decorum.
His flights, instead, pure delights,
take place in an aquarium.
Figures float upward like jellyfish,
blue, or red, or green,
weightless in a welcoming sky.”
“I like black-and-white pictures,”
a handmaid who’s been shopping announces.
“Then you would appreciate the artistry
of the photographer, Ansel Adams.
He’s the acknowledged aristocrat
of monochromatic color.”
“De Kooning was an action painter.”
“De Whooning was a what’d you call it?”
“Matisse blended color indiscriminately.”
“My sister made a picture of me…”
“Barnett Newman was a fundamentalist.
Walker Evans, Edward Weston,
Wassily Kandinsky,
Jasper Johns, Marcel Duchamp,
Joan Miro, Paul Klee, Roy Lichtenstein,”
I list the rest in un-amalgamated order,
then listen to a small child whimper as I exit.
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